Proof of Existence
by Li the Twilight Knight
Summary: Finding your Other didn't make you whole. Roxas knew this better than anyone in the Organization. All he needed was something to prove his existence, and he could have a second chance like the rest. But some are too willing to abuse that chance...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_…Did you say something?_

**Your Other is supposed to be your proof of existence, right?**

_He's supposed to be. I dunno… I don't really feel like I know him._

**But he's you. How can you say you don't know him?**

_I have his memories. I know his life back and forth. But I've only spoken to him once. And he is __**not**__ me. I'm me!_

**Those are his emotions, not yours. And maybe hers too. She's part of you both as well.**

_She…?_

**You don't remember. That was what was ordained. But memory can be so fickle. How can something that you cared for, saw, listened to, touched… how can it just be gone from your memories?**

_I… I don't know. What are you asking me?_

**What do **_**you **_**want, Roxas? What is your proof of existence?**

_I left everything I had… in Never Was. Proof that I lived there. Proof that I __**had**__ a life. Everything…_

**What a shame to be Nobody. You just need to find the proof of your existence. Yours and hers, and you can be real again.**

_Yes… My life. My life… and hers. My life, and Xi…_

xXx

_Tell me why he picked you…_

_You're stronger than me; our duel proved that. But it can't be true that you were wanted more than me. Riku and Kairi wanted you back, certainly. DiZ wanted you for his revenge, his vendetta against his former apprentices. But to get you back, they took everything from me. They never considered that I was wanted, too._

_I was… actually happy for a while. Just the simple pleasures of eating ice cream on top of the clock tower with my friends. But Riku… Riku ruined that for me. Riku told her that she had to go back to you, and she believed him. Riku stopped me, when I could have freed Kingdom Hearts and gotten her back. Riku and DiZ cast Axel out when he tried to save me…_

_I fought you for my right to exist, and you were the stronger. But you can't just forget that I'm here. I want to see home, just one more time… And I want to remember. Everything about the Order, and everything about her…_

* * *

Ai. I know that there is a stupid abundance of post-KH2 fanfictions out there. But I wanted to play with my viewpoints on Roxas and Organization XIII. Seriously, I like them more than Sora. I didn't WANT Sora back at the end of Roxas's week. But the more important question that I realized I was asking: Were Organization XIII really the bad guys?

...I don't know who the other voice is supposed to be. Italics is Roxas. Maybe it's that big voiceless voice from the beginning of the first game. You know, "You are the one to open the door to the light." and all that stuff? :D

Well, here goes nothing! Hope you guys like the story!

Li


	2. Divided Heart

**Divided Heart**

"You never change, Sora! Savior of the universe, and you're still a lazy bum!"

Sora sat bolt upright on the sand as a splash of water landed on his face, looking around frantically. Behind him, Kairi laughed, drying her hands on her skirt and kneeling beside him. "Sora, what in the world possessed you to just lie down for a nap on the beach? Riku wanted to leave you here."

He and his two best friends were the only ones who still came to the play island. Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus were wrapped up in high school troubles, and had no time to play anymore. It suited the other three just fine. After the worlds were restored and the people brought back from Traverse Town and wherever else they had ended up, everyone was a little closer to their world. They didn't dream about what lay beyond the shores anymore. Everyone was careful, except for the three to whom the outside worlds were almost as much a home as the Destiny Islands.

The keybearers were homesick for the friends they had lost, but school and family were keeping them on the islands for the time being. But whenever they got the opportunity, they snuck away to the play island and talked about their friends and the other worlds that they missed.

Riku wandered over, flopping down on the sand next to Kairi and Sora. "Not ready to leave yet?" He looked up at the stars, tracing constellations and pathways, eyes leaping from one sparkling point to the next. He remembered what a few of the worlds were, but most were simply anonymous glimmers.

"Not really." Sora replied. "The stars are so clear tonight. If we hadn't seen so many for ourselves, I'd find it hard to believe that each one is its own world."

"A world with friends that we miss." Riku pointed to a star somewhat to the left and almost right overhead. "Disney Castle." Both of his friends knew that he missed King Mickey. They had become close during their time in the darkness, and somewhere that Sora had never heard of called Castle Oblivion. Riku didn't like to talk about it much.

Kairi pointed to another one. "Radiant Garden." Many of their friends lived there. Leon and Yuffie, Aerith and Cloud, Tifa and Cid and Merlin… Although Cloud was travelling the worlds, looking for Sephiroth. It was also the original world of many of Organization XIII, as well as DiZ.

Sora reached up to point at a world, and hesitated. The star that he had reached for wasn't there. He shifted his hand, pointing instead at, "Twilight Town." Home of Hayner, Pence, and Olette, who weren't specifically _his_ friends alone. He and Kairi had become their friends, and they had helped him into Data Twilight Town to reach the World that Never Was. But what bothered him was the star that he had first tried to reach for. It hadn't been there, and it took him a moment to figure out why. But a little memory-voice was all too willing to lend him a hand.

_"There were no stars in Never Was, so close to the darkness…"_ He didn't realize he had spoken out loud until he saw Riku and Kairi staring at him oddly.

"What?" Kairi asked.

Sora floundered. "Uh… When we were in the… what did Riku call it? ...the Deep Dive City. When we were there, there weren't any stars. You couldn't see any other worlds; it was so far from everything." He didn't understand why he was so panicked all of a sudden. But that thought surely hadn't been his own. Stars, after all, hadn't really been at the forefront of his mind during their trip through the Organization's stronghold.

Riku nodded. "I remember. It was unnerving."

"Yeah." Kairi whispered in agreement. "The only thing there was Organization XIII's moon… their Kingdom Hearts."

They didn't speak out loud of the Organization often, or Ansem, either. Sometimes, sitting in school or on the beach, the horrible things they had lived through seemed little more than dreams. No one would believe them if they told all of what they had gone through, so it was lucky that they had each other. Kairi's abduction by Saix, Riku's confrontation with Roxas, Axel's sacrifice for Sora… They told each other everything, and that helped them get past it, to move on with their lives.

Eventually they had to leave for home, and Sora returned to his house with a lot on his mind. He ate his dinner wordlessly and went to bed early, telling his worried mother that he was just tired from a day on the play island. Something in his soul felt restless, but he couldn't place what it was. Sighing, he hoped for sleep, figuring he would realize what was wrong eventually.

xXx

_**We have come for you, my liege…**_

_Ocean-blue eyes widened, staring at the thing in front of him. This was a Nobody, one of the heartless Dusks that had been so prevalent in Never Was, and wherever an Organization member was causing trouble. But why was it calling him…?_

_"Get away from me!" He stumbled backwards, not in control of his own movements, and brandished a stick at the thing. "What's going on?!"_

_The stick wasn't doing anything, and Sora flailed, wishing for the Keyblade. That would defeat these things easily. As if in response to his wish, the stick flashed with light, and became the glowing key he was so familiar with. But as he fought, he realized that his fighting style was different. More graceful, more fluid, moving as if there should be two blades in his possession, not one. He stared at his own hands, moving without his control, and noticed the checkerboard band around his wrist._

_'That's not mine…'_

_The things defeated, he stopped, panting, only to look up as two boys and a girl raced up to him._

_"Are you okay, Ro-"_

Sora awoke, shivering. He had never had a dream like that before, only able to watch as his body moved on its own. That place… He had been in Twilight Town, fighting Dusks. That had been a common enough occurrence, with the amount of time he had spent there, but it was the finer details of the dream that didn't make sense. It was the Dusks who had 'spoken', he was certain, but why would they call him 'my liege'? And what on earth had he been wearing? It wasn't clothing he owned.

He shook his head, forcing the confusion out of his thoughts. He and his friends were going out on the town today, spending the day somewhere other than at the beach. He pulled on a white hoodie with blue baseball-style short-sleeves and a blue hood, over a long-sleeved grey shirt. After finding and donning his favorite jeans, he grabbed his shoes and hurried out of the house.

Riku and Kairi were waiting, dressed equally as casually. They greeted him with laughs and complaints about him taking forever, and the three friends set off into town.

"So where are we going?" Sora asked, shielding the sun from his eyes to glance over at Kairi, who had suggested this deviation from the normal. Usually on Saturdays they spent all day on the play island, packing food and drink and not coming home until late.

Kairi laughed. "Well, I wanted to go to that new shop, the one down the street from the school? I heard they have the cutest clothes." In response to the horrified looks on the boys' faces, she said teasingly, "And then I thought we could go get you guys some new practice swords, and one for me too. It looks too weird to draw the Keyblades, and they'll call the Heartless anyway, won't they?"

"If there are any left." Riku murmured. "Maleficent might have them all in her sway at the Castle. You never know."

Maleficent. None of them had paid much attention to her or Pete, not at the end with the threat of Xemnas looming very real in front of them. It had been startling when they appeared to hold off the army of Heartless from Kingdom Hearts' explosion, but in that moment it had been more important to reach the Alter of Naught. They had never found out what happened to the wicked witch and her toady, but they assumed it was a similar situation to their own. Victory or oblivion.

_"Oblivion, where I was born, and where he couldn't go…"_ Again, Sora found his friends staring at him as he unwittingly voiced a thought. He waved his hands absently, saying only, "Nothing. Come on, Kairi. You wanted to go shopping…?"

Kairi frowned at him, but linked an arm with one of each of her friends'. "Yep! Come on, boys! Let's go!"

Riku rolled his eyes, but followed. Sora allowed himself to be led, thoughts drifting again. Snippets of conversations, bits of his memory, played in his mind.

_You two are my best friends._

_What if we just… ran? Got away from here…_

_Where did I think I could go…? Damn it…_

He almost stumbled into Kairi when she stopped in front of a garishly decorated storefront. Letting go of Sora and Riku, she hurried inside with an 'ooh!' of shopping glee. Riku sighed, glancing at his still-slightly-out-of-it best friend, and nudged him in the shoulder. "Come on, let's go make sure she doesn't drown in shopping."

"Saviors of the Universe, and we're reduced to protecting her from bargain-hunters." Sora bantered back playfully. They followed their friend into the store, and Sora immediately swallowed uneasily. It was a girl's clothing store, but that wasn't what was bothering him. It was the little memory-voice again, sighing wistfully, _I never had anything as nice as this. Just that boring coat. But I didn't know how to __**want**__ something nicer._

Sora shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. Riku noticed, and turned to him worriedly.

"Sora, are you okay? You don't seem right today."

Sora grinned weakly, shaking his head to indicate nothing was wrong. "I just feel a little funny. I'll be fine." If he could figure out what these strange voices were, he'd be perfect. This one was different from the one the other night. This one sounded… feminine. The one from last night had been familiar, in an absentminded kind of way, like a song he could hum but didn't know the words. It was on the tip of his tongue…

"Well, you know that I'm here for you." Riku said, turning to face him. The implication was an important one, that he wasn't going to leave again, but the words themselves stirred an unpleasant memory in Sora, from that little part of himself he couldn't touch. Remembered words sprang to his lips, filled with just as much venom as they had in the memory they came from.

"_Why won't you quit!_" he snarled, taking a step forward. "_I have to do this! I want my life back!_"

Riku's eyes widened, and he took a single step back. "Sora?" He recognized the tone, remembered the conversation. This… wasn't his friend.

"_No! I'm me! Nobody else!_" Sora took another step forward and wavered, his knees almost giving out. "What's wrong with me, Riku?"

Riku wrapped an arm around his waist, supporting him. "I… I have an idea, Sora. Let me go talk to Kairi. Can you stand?"

Sora nodded, holding onto a rack of bright, floral-print t-shirts. Riku disappeared, weaving effortlessly through a crowd of girls, some of whom tried to fawn over him, and located their red-headed friend. Sora saw her look in his direction worriedly, and then they were both coming back over to him to help him out of the store.

They ended up at an ice-cream shop down the street, not eating, but just sitting. Riku and Kairi were both facing Sora, worried about their friend. They could tell that there was something wrong, but weren't entirely sure how to help him.

"Sora…" Riku started, hesitantly. "Does it feel like… they aren't your words?"

Sora nodded. "Some of the voices… they're memories. But they aren't _my_ memories. And others sound like a voice from _now_. Like someone else wants to speak." He froze, eyes widening in realization. "Hey, what if it's…?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

Kairi stared between the boys in puzzlement, but smiled hesitantly in recognition as Riku said, louder, "Roxas. What do you want? Leave Sora alone."

Sora shook his head, looking down for a moment, and when he looked back up, there was a glint in his eyes that neither of them had ever seen there before. Blue eyes twinkled mischievously, and the boy grinned.

"Hi, Riku. Long time, no see."


	3. Memories of Nobody

**Memories of Nobody**

Kairi watched the odd conversation between her best friends, trying to wrap her mind around what was going on. It was Sora's body, and Sora's voice, but the person speaking the words was Roxas.

"You forced me into this, Riku." Roxas was saying. "I never had a choice in the matter."

"You were a Nobody. You weren't whole." Riku replied, keeping his voice down to discourage passers-by from listening to their conversation. "That was Organization XIII's goal, wasn't it? To become whole again? Well, now you're whole, and you're still unhappy."

Sora's lips pulled into a frown, and Roxas said, "You know what? This isn't going to help. Your views aren't going to change for me. I'll leave Sora alone, Riku, until you're ready to listen." As Kairi and Riku stared, Sora blinked once, twice, and shook his head.

"Guys…?" he asked slowly. "Were you… talking to Roxas?"

Riku leaned over to look in Sora's eyes, seeing no traces of his upset other half, and said, "We were. Where were you?"

"The Station of Awakening." Sora replied without missing a beat. "Just kind of sitting there, waiting to see what would happen. The voice wasn't there this time." He had told the other two about the Dive to the Heart a long time ago, about the fabulous world of stained-glass platforms and the disembodied voice that guided him. "I figured that it would let me out eventually. Do you think that's where Roxas is all the time?"

"I don't know, Sora. I didn't ask him." Riku frowned, still somewhat worried. "He said that he would leave you alone from now on, so everything should be okay."

"All right." Sora bounced to his feet. "Since we're here, we should get some ice-cream! You guys want some?" When they nodded, he grinned. "Be right back!"

As they watched him dash up to the counter, Kairi couldn't help but think about Roxas. She had only spoken to the boy once, some sort of strange connection in their dreams. He had claimed to know her from seeing her in his own dreams, and Riku had explained that those were Sora's memories, coming through to Roxas. But the blond boy hadn't seemed like a bad person. Sad, more than anything, and confused about what was happening to him. She pictured him, sitting alone on a platform in the middle of space, a stained-glass world with no life save his own. She wouldn't wish a fate like that on anyone. Poor Roxas.

xXx

That night, Sora tossed and turned in the grip of his dreams again. It was just as vivid as it had been the first time. But there was something off about this one. The memories were different.

_Why am I at Beast's Castle?_

_He was kneeling, panting with exertion on the bridge outside of the neglected castle. There was a figure in an Organization coat facing away from him, bending to pick up his dropped keyblade. He watched in silence as the figure picked up the key, looking at it for a long moment._

_"You can't fight fire with sparks." That was Riku's voice! "This keyblade is nothing but a toy. It's a sham." He tossed it back over his shoulder, letting it clatter to the ground where Sora knelt._

_"What right do you have to say that?" Sora cried, once again not in control of his own voice."My keyblade is not a sham! And neither am I…"_

_A sham? What the heck?_

Sora woke, shaking, unsure what to make of the dream. He was fairly sure Roxas had never fought Riku like that. The only real way to find out, though, would be to ask one of the two.

_So ask me._

Sora blinked. Great, he was hearing voices again.

_Damn it, Sora. Get in here and talk to me, then._

Sora was about to open his mouth to question it, when utter blackness engulfed his vision. He felt himself falling backwards, and realized with relief that he was falling into the Station of Awakening again. As his feet touched down on the stained-glass surface, he locked eyes with the blond boy dressed in black and white, noting the checkerboard band around his wrist.

"They're your memories, then." Sora said quietly, looking on his other half, uncertain how to feel.

"Yeah. Not entirely, but for the most part." Roxas was equally quiet, civil. He walked over, sitting down on the edge of the platform and looking over at the stained-glass stairs that led down to a different platform. He didn't say anything for a long time, and Sora went over to sit with him. Roxas glanced at him, and smiled wryly. "You must think I'm awful, interfering in your life like this."

"Not really." Sora admitted. "It's your life too, after all." He didn't claim to understand everything about Nobodies, but he knew that Roxas was an important part of him. A part that he couldn't ignore, as current events were proving. It had been a great regret of his, when he learned the truth about the blond boy, that he had never gotten to meet him. But now he had that opportunity.

Roxas laughed mirthlessly. "That's the problem. It's not. I don't know what it _is_, but it's your life, Sora. I'm just along for the ride. I have been since the day I returned to you." His voice became bitter. "I couldn't cry for the friends that had never been mine. I couldn't beg or plead or reason with any of the Organization, and I couldn't explain to you that it was _me_ that they kept calling for." As Sora watched, Roxas turned to look at him, pain in his expression. "I had to watch Axel fade saving you, knowing that he was talking to me in the end, talking to me and looking at you and wishing that I was in your place."

"I'm… I'm sorry…" It was the only thing Sora could think to say. "I'm sorry about Axel… I didn't know why he would die to help me, when he was with the Organization, but now I know it was you he was protecting." He thought for a long moment. "Roxas… what do you want?"

Roxas stared at him for a long time, as if judging whether or not the question was meant in a genuine way. He hesitated, lacing and unlacing his fingers absently, and finally said haltingly, "I… would like to return to Never Was. Just once more, to find something to validate my existence. It was my home for a year… and it was the only home I ever had. Data Twilight Town doesn't count." He sighed. "As dysfunctional as they were, the Order was my family. I need to see the only place that I belonged that wasn't fake."

Sora reached out to touch him on the shoulder, nodding in agreement. "I can go back. The world will still be there. It wasn't like Traverse Town or End of the World." End of the World had been made of a conglomeration of worlds destroyed by the Heartless. When the worlds were restored, End of the World broke apart to return to its original state. Traverse Town had been created as a world for the refugees, and now that no one lived there anymore, it had sunk into the darkness and was practically unreachable.

"Do you mean it?" Roxas asked, his eyes lighting up. It was the happiest he had been in a long, long time.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I can still reach the gummi ship. King Mickey left it for the three of us, just in case. I'll leave tomorrow. School's really not important in the face of this, so I don't care if I'm not back by Monday."

"Thank you, Sora…" Roxas said, genuinely surprised. "I was right before: You are a good Other."

Sora grinned in return, and a familiar white light engulfed him. When he could see again, he was back in bed, but with new resolve. He had to return to the World that Never Was. As soon as possible. Riku would be unhappy with him, as would Kairi, but there was little he could do. Roxas… Roxas was like a twin brother that he'd never had. And family was important, even if no one could figure out how to explain your relationship other than 'they're the same person'.

He lay back down, trying to go back to sleep, wondering how he could possibly explain to his mother what he would have to do.

xXx

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes, Sora?" Mrs. Hikari moved around the kitchen, making eggs and bacon for breakfast. Sora lived with his mother in a small house in the town on the main island. She was a kind woman, and had always welcomed Sora's friends into the house. When they returned to the islands after everything that had happened, his mother had welcomed him, Riku, and Kairi with tears and hugs. She had even hugged Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey, not put-off at all with the otherworldly visitors. She was just grateful that they had looked out for her son and his friends.

"Remember everything with the keyblade and Heartless and Nobodies and stuff?" Sora asked, pouring a glass of orange juice and going to sit down. When she nodded, he continued, "I have to go away for a few days. I have to go back to the World that Never Was. There's… someone I have to go see."

His mother turned around, surprised disapproval clear in her eyes. "You told me that that particular world was on the verge of darkness, and nothing lived there but this 'Organization XIII' group. They are gone, right?"

"There was a thirteenth member. Five were already gone when I got there, and I had beaten two more before arriving. One died to open the way for me to get there, and I beat the other four while I was there. But there's one more; his name is Roxas and I have to find him and talk to him." Sora had never told his mother about becoming a Heartless or finding his Nobody. He neglected to mention, then, that Roxas was already with him. He hoped his mother would hear the urgency in his voice, and allow him to go.

"You have to go confront this? No one else can?" Mrs. Hikari sighed at the look on her son's face. "I know, Sora. Whether I like it or not, you are a Keyblade Master. If you must go, I trust you to come back to me safely."

Sora got up and hugged her. "Thanks for understanding, Mom. If… If Riku and Kairi ask, tell them not to worry."

She almost admonished him for not telling his friends something so important, but the look on his face stopped her. He sat down and finished his breakfast, grabbed some extra clothes and supplies for the gummi ship, and kissed her goodbye. She watched him from the door until she couldn't see him anymore, then returned inside. She was proud of her son, selflessly protecting the world, confronting all sorts of dangers. But she couldn't help but wish that he didn't have to risk himself. Hopefully this 'Roxas' would be the most normal of Organization XIII.

xXx

The gummi ship was waiting in the garage where he had last seen it, in the building on the fringes of interspace. But Sora was astonished to see another ship, made of navy blue, red-violet, black, and silver gummi blocks. The script on the side identified it as the Soul Eater, and it was much nicer than Sora's square-ish orange Highwind.

"What in Kingdom Hearts is that?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Riku's been saving up and building in his spare time!" Chip and Dale chimed from somewhere around his feet, nearly scaring him out of his skin. "He said he wanted to be able to visit Disney Castle and places without leaving you and Kairi stranded!"

_I didn't know he missed his friends that much…_ Sora looked down, nodding in acknowledgment to Chip and Dale. "I'm taking Highwind, guys. There're places I have to go."

"All right, Sora." Chip said. "You're not taking Riku or Kairi with you?"

"This is something I have to do by myself."

Understanding, the chipmunks scurried around, getting all of the necessary things prepared. When they were done, Dale gave Sora a thumbs-up. "You're good to go! Come back soon, okay, Sora?"

"Sure!" Sora climbed into the familiar cockpit of the Highwind, revving the engine slightly before flying out of the garage and into interspace. The light-roads that he had opened before remained open, and it was a simple matter to pick out the familiar path to Radiant Garden. He realized he needed to see his other friends as well, and let them know that he was all right.

"I hope you don't mind a stop along the way. I won't let them keep me."

"_It's fine, Sora. You need to see your friends too. I can wait a little longer._"

"Thanks, Roxas."

* * *

From now on, Roxas's words will be in italics. Sora's the only one who can hear him when he's speaking, unless it specifically says he's using Sora's voice.

So, what do you guys think? Worth continuing? I think so, but that's just me. Hope you liked it!

Li


	4. ReverseRebirth

**Reverse/Rebirth**

Radiant Garden had steadily improved in the two months since the defeat of Organization XIII. The areas of the town that were actually inhabited had increased dramatically thanks to the reconstruction efforts of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. At the moment, only the outermost edges of the town were still in disrepair. The hope was to finish up there, and move on to explore the old castle.

The last time any of them had been in the castle was for the sealing of the keyhole. After that, they had stayed there until word came that Ansem had been defeated, and then left for town. No one wanted to stay in a place where such terrible things had happened. It stood, deserted and melancholy, a reminder of what they were working to fix. Thankfully, during the siege of Hollow Bastion by Organization XIII, the thousands of Heartless in the ravine below the castle had been eradicated. There was no longer a plague to wade through to reach the castle, so it would be fairly simple to get there.

On the outskirts of town, a man and woman were working on the framework of an abandoned house. They were repairing the structural damage, so that walls could be put back up and it could become livable again. The man was up on a ladder, hammering nails, while the woman below handed the nails up to him.

"We should be done with this one soon, right, Aerith?" the man asked, hammering in the last nail for this particular beam. He climbed down to move the ladder over so he could reach the next one, and Aerith passed him another nail. "Then Yuffie can start putting up the drywall on the inside."

"Right." Aerith nodded in agreement. The man paused for a second, wiping sweaty hands on his dusty, dark-denim, slightly-too-big jeans. He straightened his purple shirt and resumed hammering. Aerith watched him a moment longer, quietly, and again marveled at how much _different_ he seemed than anything they had heard.

"Aeri?" His voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she handed him the next two nails.

"Sorry. I was lost in thought for a second."

"Tell me about it. You weren't there at all. Blank with a capital 'B'."

Aerith giggled. "Give me a break, okay?"

"A'ight. But just cuz you're the only one here who likes me." He glanced up, and his eyes lit on two figures coming down the street. He jumped down the ladder, startling Aerith, and said quickly, "I have to go. I don't want to see him."

Aerith looked over at whatever he had seen, and raised an eyebrow. "But he would be happy to know you're okay. He said nothing bad about you, ever."

"I'm not ready to see him, 'kay? After all, little brat took my best friend from me." The insulting nickname was spoken with nothing but teasing. "I'll be at the bonfire later, but for now, I'm gone!" He dashed off among the unfinished houses, and Aerith sighed, turning to greet her other friends as they saw her and waved.

xXx

When Sora had arrived in Radiant Garden, he immediately set off for Merlin's house, where the 'Restoration Committee' was usually hanging around. But the old wizard told him that all of his friends were out working in town. So Sora made his way out into the little town, looking around for a glimpse of anyone he recognized.

The first person he found turned out to be Leon. The gunblader had been thrilled to see him, and he felt a pang of guilt knowing that he hadn't returned to Radiant Garden since his last departure for Twilight Town. The king had promised to tell them that he was okay, but it wasn't the same as coming himself.

"So where is everyone?" Sora asked, walking beside the older male through the streets.

Leon chuckled. "They're all out, doing what they can to help rebuild the town. Once the town's rebuilt, we can go through the castle. Who really knows what could be hidden in there? We found Ansem's study, the Heartless manufacturing room, and the computer room, but I'm certain that there's more that we don't know about."

"I'm sure Tron could help." Sora said. "He's the castle's computer, after all. Wouldn't he know everything about it?"

"Probably." Leon agreed. "We'll ask him when we're ready to start. Maybe you could come back and help us too." They turned onto a side street, and Leon continued, "Aerith was over here, working on one of these houses."

"By herself?" Sora asked. He knew Aerith had great strength of will, but building a house all on her own?

"…" Leon hesitated, uncertain what to tell the young keybearer. He wasn't sure what Sora would think of what the Reconstruction Committee had been hiding from him. Fortunately, he was spared from answering when he spotted Aerith, alone in the framework of a half-built house. He waved, and she waved in return, coming out to meet them and embracing Sora.

"We're glad you're safe!" she said, releasing him to step back. "Good gracious, Sora, I think you've grown another inch since we last saw you!"

"It's only been two months!" Sora protested, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Aerith smiled warmly. "Two months is a long time, but not as long as a year." Looking over at Leon, she added, "This one is almost done. Just a few more beams to finish nailing into place. But I think we've done enough for today."

Leon nodded. "Right. There's a bonfire tonight, isn't there?"

"Yes." The flower girl glanced over at Sora. In response to his puzzled look, she elaborated, "We've been holding bonfires in the town center every week or so, as a means to bring the community together. This hasn't been a real world since the castle's fall into Darkness, so we want to bring people in and have them realize that this is their home and their neighbors; that we are a complete place, a real home, once more."

It was a perfect idea, in Sora's mind. People needed each other to get through hard times, and Radiant Garden had been through harder times than most. He looked up again, focusing back on the conversation as Aerith asked him, "You will stay for the bonfire, right, Sora?"

Sora hesitated. He really wanted to get to Never Was as soon as possible, but just mingling with his friends again was a tempting offer. There was a faint murmur of agreement in the back of his thoughts, and he smiled. "Yeah. Of course I will."

Leon clapped him on the shoulder. "Dinner is in about an hour, back at Merlin's. Do you want to do some training until then? We can go to the Bailey."

Sora nodded eagerly, and hurried off with the older brunet, waving a hurried goodbye to Aerith. She waved in return, sighing. It would be almost impossible for Sora to miss their guest at the bonfire, but hopefully things would turn out okay in the end. After all, there was no true hate between them, only a tenuous sort of trust. Everything would be just fine. She was certain of it.

xXx

Training made the time pass by faster, and Sora was starved when they returned to Merlin's house. As he wolfed down his food, he caught up with Yuffie and Cid as well. Tifa was absent from the table, and when he inquired about the dark-haired woman he had met during the siege of Hollow Bastion, they told him that she had gone to look for Cloud.

It was a depressing thought, that she was searching so hard for a man tied so tightly to his darkness. But maybe Tifa could be the light that drew him out of that darkness.

xXx

The bonfire was only a pile of logs when they arrived at the town center, stacked and arranged into a pyramid taller than even Cid. It hadn't yet been lit, and Aerith looked around apprehensively. Maybe he had gone back on his promise after all… But then fire flared from around the other side, and the entire pile of logs went up in flames in moments. People cheered, and children shrieked and giggled as sparks crackled down.

"A song! A song!" someone cried, and the whole crowd took up the chant. Yuffie leaned over to say cheerfully in Sora's ear, "There are all kinds of songs that we sing. For some reason, it makes everybody happier. Even that grouch Cid will sing sometimes!"

"I heard that, Brat!" But Cid didn't sound angry. Instead, the gummi expert turned his attention back to the crowd, where a woman had begun singing.

"_I've got a dream 'bout an angel in the forest, enchanted by the edge of a lake…_"

Someone else picked up the tune as well, continuing on when the next verse started, "_But I don't see any angels in the city; I don't hear any holy choirs sing. And if I can't get an angel, I can still get a boy, and a boy'll be the next best thing… The next best thing to an angel… A boy'll be the next best thing!_"

Sora didn't recognize the song, but there was something powerful about it, listening to multiple voices all singing with the same passion.

"_I've got a dream 'bout a boy in a castle and he's dancing like a cat on the stairs. He's got the fire of a prince in his eyes and the thunder of a drum in his ears._" A male voice, smooth, had taken up the song, and there were cheers from the crowd. Sora couldn't see who was singing, but he knew that voice. He didn't notice Aerith glance sideways at him, too caught up in the words pouring forth in that familiar, rich voice. "_I've got a dream 'bout a boy on a star looking down upon the rim of the world. He's there all alone and dreaming of someone like me…_" The crowd laughed as the voice triumphantly finished the line, "_I'm not an angel, but at least I'm a girl!_"

Sora was only shaken out of his listening to the voice when Aerith and Yuffie chimed in on the next part from right beside him, almost startling him with their closeness. The tiny part of him that was Roxas was puzzled as well, but Sora turned to listen to the girls, knowing he would figure it out eventually.

Almost as if in contest to the man's visions of castles and stars, the girls sang, "_But it's only a dream, and tonight is for real… You'll never know what it means, but you'll know how it feels… It's gonna be over, before you know it's begun…_" They went back and forth, building higher and higher, declaring to the assembled group, "_Tonight is what it means to be young!_"

Almost before they had finished the line, the man was singing again, and Sora finally saw him. A skintight black sleeveless shirt over black pants with red stripes down the side, complemented with silver chains and red and black striped armbands that extended from wrist to elbow. The skinny figure was dancing, which wasn't surprising considering that many others were too, but he was so close to the bonfire it was a wonder he didn't get burned. "_Let the revels begin, let the fire be started… We're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted…_" He came around, and Sora finally caught a glimpse of his face and froze. Untamable red hair trailed in spikes down his neck, and tattoos like inverted teardrops marred the skin under his eyes. Eyes, somewhere between emerald, teal and sea-foam green, looked up to lock with cerulean, flickering in the firelight. The man came closer, still singing, not letting anyone around them know anything was wrong, save for the Restoration Committee members, who already knew. "_Let the revels begin, let the fire be started… We're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted…_" He stopped just in front of Sora, the last line of the song's bridge almost seeming like it was for Sora alone. "_Say a prayer in the darkness for the magic begun… No matter what it seems, tonight is what it means to be young._"

Sora couldn't even form coherent words. A soft 'aah' was the only sound that escaped him. On the mental level, thankfully, Roxas was at least able to think what Sora could not, though equally mesmerized by uniquely green eyes. Only one person had ever had eyes that color…

"_Axel._" The name was enough to jar Sora out of muteness, and the keyblader whispered the name aloud, still shocked beyond further words.

"Axel…"

* * *

XD

Such a beautiful, beautiful mental image I have of Axel singing. And I love that song, and the movie it comes from. "Tonight is What it Means to be Young", by Fire, Inc. From the movie "Streets of Fire". So much fire, the perfect song for Axel. :P Three guesses who the boy in the castle is.

I've got a few chapters written out, so updates should be fairly quick for a little while, at least. I think these are the longest chapters I've written in a while! Yay.

Enjoy!  
Li


	5. Devotion's Proof

**Devotion's Proof**

"Axel…" Sora didn't really feel like an idiot for only being able to say the other's name. After all, if the ceaseless litany inside his head was any indication, Roxas wasn't any more coherent than he was.

The redhead smiled, shaking his head in amusement. The song carried on behind him, but he paid the crowd no more mind except to idly wave a hand, making the fire flare briefly higher. "Sora." he replied, the faintest hint of mocking in his voice. "Sora, Sora, Sora."

"Axel…"

"Yes. That's my name. Obviously, you never quite memorized it." A quiet laugh and a joke about his former self covered up any trace of nervousness he had. As the brunet keyblader stared up at him, he couldn't stop himself from searching the cerulean eyes, hoping to see something else there as well. And he did.

Pushing past Sora's still-stunned, still-reeling consciousness, Roxas used every fiber of control he had to throw Sora's arms around the redhead. It wasn't quite the same, but it would do. It was enough for now. Forcing Sora to hide his face in Axel's chest, his own words coming out in Sora's voice, "Oh, Powers, Axel… You're alive… _You're alive…_"

Axel's expression softened as he figured out what had happened. "Yeah, Rox. I'm alive. _Completely_ alive." To make his point, he reached up and gently moved Sora's head just slightly, so that both the blond and the brunet who shared one form could clearly hear the relief in his voice. "Whole, finally…"

Roxas reeled back at the sheer amount of emotion in Axel's tone, whispering hoarsely, "Your heart…" It was his turn to be so stunned that Sora was able to come forward again. Sora hesitantly let go of the former Nobody, stepping back to put a small amount of space between them. "How?"

"Kingdom Hearts is merciful to the devoted." Axel said quietly. "It knew how hard we strived to become real." He offered a hand to the Keyblade master, asking only, "Will you come and talk to me?"

Sora hesitated, but at Roxas's urging, accepted the hand. Axel glanced at the committee members, most of whom were watching him warily, but Aerith nodded in approval. He gripped Sora's hand lightly, leading the teen away from the bonfire and back to a street some distance away. Light from the enormous fire still cast a glow over the cobblestones, and Axel sat down, leaning against one of the houses. Sora sat across from him, wondering what the fire-wielder wanted to talk about.

Seemingly arbitrarily, Axel mused quietly, "People here _like_ me. They don't associate me with Organization XIII. Only your friends know, and they're mostly okay with it. I have to work to show that I've changed, but that's fine…"

"Kingdom Hearts gave you your heart… You're finally back to your original self." Sora said. "Is it worth everything that happened?"

Axel laughed. "That's just it, Sora! I'm not my original self. My Somebody's name was Lea, and he was quite the character. I'll tell you that. He and Isa used to get up to all sorts of mischief. Saïx, you know." he elaborated, seeing Sora frown at the unfamiliar name. "Saïx and I joined the Organization together. We were friends as Somebodies. But, the thing is, I'm not Lea. I didn't go back to being Lea. I'm still Axel, just Axel with a heart."

There was a flare of _something_ from Roxas, something faintly like hope and longing, and Sora shivered slightly under the force of it. He smiled hesitantly at the former Nobody, whispering, "It might be a bit late… but I never thanked you for saving my life. Thank you. We're going back to the World that Never Was. Did you… want to come?"

The thanks left Axel unbelievably happy, and it still amazed him sometimes. Two months was not enough to dull his wonder at the strength of his new emotions. He nodded, "I'd love to, but why are you going back there? It's a dead world."

Sora hesitated, and Roxas again took his voice and answered, "_I want to find my proof of existence. Something… anything…_"

"Roxas…" Axel almost reached out to embrace him, but stopped, knowing who would actually feel it. "Let me go tell Aerith and the others that we're going."

"I can tell them." Sora protested.

"Please, let me." Axel said. "I died to save your life; they can't possibly think I would hurt you now." He got up, scampering back towards the bonfire to seek out Aerith. Sora watched him go, and murmured almost noiselessly, "This was a surprise."

"_I… guess I just didn't think that Kingdom Hearts would give them a second chance._" Roxas replied. Sora felt the strange emotion from earlier again, but didn't question it. As they watched Axel begin to make his way back over to them, Sora climbed to his feet. "Well, we'll get some answers in Never Was, hopefully." Time to get back to the gummi ship and continue their journey.

xXx

Earlier that day, that afternoon, to be precise, Riku had gone to Sora's house, brand-new practice swords in hand, ready to thoroughly kick the other's ass and prove that all those losses since their return had been Sora reaping the benefits of the Ultima Keyblade. With ordinary swords, Riku was still the better fighter!

But Mrs. Hikari answered the door, saying that Sora had left, and had been completely unperturbed when Riku barged into the house demanding to know where he went.

"Sora said he was returning to the World that Never Was to speak to someone called Roxas." Mrs. Hikari explained. "I assume he's the last of Organization XIII. Sora said not to worry, that he would be back in a few days."

_Roxas…_ Riku hesitated. "Mrs. Hikari, do you know about Roxas?"

She shook her head. "No, the first I heard of him was this morning."

Riku sighed. _Damn it, Sora._ This was going to be difficult. "Sora told you that he unlocked his heart in Hollow Bastion to free Kairi's heart, right?" When he received a nod of confirmation, he continued, "That caused him to turn into a Heartless. Kairi brought him back, but it also created a Nobody. Roxas is that Nobody. He's Sora."

Mrs. Hikari stared at Riku in bewilderment. "He's going to confront himself? That's…" She trailed off, then continued, "Sora believed that Roxas would listen to him, and that he would be fine. I believe him. …He didn't want you to go after him, Riku."

Riku scowled, but muttered almost affectionately, "Idiot. Now who's doing everything by themselves?" He looked back at Sora's mother, reassuring her, "I won't go after him, Mrs. Hikari. I'll wait a little while, a few days, at least." He didn't like it, but he trusted Sora. And he trusted Roxas not to do anything that would endanger the two of them. But hopefully, Sora and Roxas would run into nothing more than memories in the World that Never Was.

xXx

"Is anyone else back? I mean, like you, with a heart? Any of the rest of the Organization?"

Sora was keeping himself entertained by questioning Axel on the long, mostly-empty flight to Never Was. He had never been the most patient flyer, and the redhead offered a willing distraction.

"I don't know." Axel replied. "I woke up in Hollow Bastion dressed in my Order coat with one very angry Leon holding a gunblade in my face. He was bitching something to Aerith about 'Organization scum' and I'm pretty sure he wanted to behead me."

"Organization XIII attacked Hollow Bastion. Leon just… he takes that a little personally, since he feels like, now that he's home, it's up to him to protect it." Sora explained. "I'm sure it was nothing against you particularly."

"Aerith told me that you never said anything bad about me." Axel said smugly. "You must've thought highly of me, or else it's just Roxy's love for me shining through!"

Sora felt Roxas bristle at the nickname, and laughed out loud. When Axel questioned what was so funny, he explained as best he could, feeling indignation streaming from Roxas in waves. The ship swerved, and Axel had to take over driving for a few minutes while Sora collected his multiple selves.

He had never flown to Never Was directly before, since the only time he had ever been to the world was when Axel had opened the gate through Data Twilight Town. But Axel knew the way, and there was a path of light for the gummi ship to follow, though faint and splintering in places under the force of Never Was's darkness.

When the gummi ship arrived, Axel steered them into the only real place to disembark, letting them out onto the Dark Beach. Sora hesitated, staring at the water, and whispered, "This is part of Never Was?" He walked forward, feeling the tiny waves lapping against his shoes, and continued, "This is where Riku and I ended up, after that last fight with Xemnas. We thought we'd be here forever." He sighed. "It's… it's really not that bad here, despite the darkness."

"Riku and the mouse-king will be thrilled to know that their little keybearer is so tolerant of the darkness." Axel teased. He motioned the teen to follow him, saying only, "Come on, then! None of us can portal anymore, and it's a long walk through Deep Dive City!" He set off up the beach, and Sora trailed after him.

It was familiar, trekking through the winding alleys and neon-lit streets. But this time, there was no sense of urgency, no pressing knowledge of friends in danger or worlds in peril. Sora could really take the time to _look_ at the place where he had fought his final battles. When they stepped into the area of Memory's Skyscraper, both Sora and Roxas hesitated, and Axel merely stood quietly and watched.

"_I was angry. He had died, and I was so angry… I wanted you to hurt like I was hurting._"

"I know. It wasn't your fault. I did win the duel, so no harm done."

"_…That's not the point, Sora. But… okay. No harm done, and he's alive again anyway._"

"Come on, you two!" Axel yelled at the boy, trying to get both halves' attention. "Let's go! Castle's waiting!" He turned without waiting for them, and Sora snorted with laughter.

"When did he become more eager to get there then we are?"

xXx

Nothing's Call was still open when they arrived, as if the castle was waiting for them. Sora trailed through the castle slowly, looking around and really taking it in. "You guys lived here?" he asked Axel. "It's so… empty. Lifeless."

"Like we were." Axel replied wryly. "Xemnas believed that we needed to be protected from outside influences, so he designed the castle to reflect our own natures, nothing more. It's nice, in a way, all the wide-open spaces, but the white is enough to drive you mad sometimes."

They passed by the room appropriately named Proof of Existence, seeing the standing arches representing each member of Organization XIII. The arches themselves had long-since crumbled, cutting off any access to the rooms beyond, but everything else remained. All the tiles except Roxas's glowed silver, while the blond boy's tile remained a bright blue. Sora felt the question Roxas wanted to ask, and spoke out loud, "Does that mean everyone got a second chance, like you?"

Axel chuckled. "Apparently so. Even those who may not have deserved it quite as much. But, hey, who am I to judge? That's Kingdom Heart's job."

Sora paced the rows, looking at all of the tiles. He knew most of them, by weapon if not by title, but a few were unfamiliar. The Graceful Assassin, the Savage Nymph, the Silent Hero, the Chilly Academic, and the Cloaked Schemer… Five members of the Organization he had never met. "What happened to them?"

"They were killed on a mission in Castle Oblivion." Axel said. "I can't say any more. Sorry, Sora."

Sora frowned, but didn't ask anything further. The names hovered on the edge of his consciousness, as if just waiting to be remembered, and he bit his lip in frustration. Turning his attention inwards, he called out to his other half, "Roxas, you know your way around. You lead from here."

"_Okay_." Roxas effortlessly took control again, turning and pointing to a different door off to the side. "There. That goes to the other hallways, where our personal rooms were and where the Grey Area was."

Axel knew immediately that it was Roxas again, but didn't say anything, simply following behind. Everything would turn out for the best. He just knew it would. It had to, for Roxas's sake.

* * *

They tried so hard for hearts of their own, it seems like Kingdom Hearts would understand that. Somehow, though, I still feel like my explanation is lame. (sigh)

Makes you wonder where the rest of the Organization is. Hehehe...

Enjoy!  
Li


	6. The Other Promise

**The Other Promise**

The hallway that they walked down opened into the Grey Area, and Roxas walked over slowly to the large windows, gazing up at the empty sky where Xemnas's Kingdom Hearts used to hang, a pale moon for a bleak world. Far below, the glittering neon lights of the rain-drenched Deep Dive City did nothing to pierce the darkness that ate away at the edges of the world. Roxas stared downwards, deep in some internal monologue with Sora, and Axel didn't dare interrupt. Instead, he wandered over to lounge on one of the grey sofas, able to imagine for just a brief moment that things were back the way they should be. If he closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the sofa, he could pretend that if he opened his eyes again, he would only see Saïx glaring down at him for being lazy.

But the coat of black leather was missing, and when he opened his eyes, it was Sora's form standing melancholy and contemplative by the window. It was all wrong. Roxas's mannerisms looked wrong with Sora's body. The way the blond boy walked, the way he clasped his hands in front of him when he was depressed or thinking really hard about something, or the way that he looked up at Axel with pleading eyes when he wanted something. Axel sighed. He missed Roxas more than he would ever admit, but he wasn't going to get his hopes up now. There was no proof that Kingdom Hearts would grant Roxas the same gift it had granted him.

Sora/Roxas had turned around, coming back over to him and saying quietly, "Let's go to my room. I want to see if everything is still there."

Axel got up, frowning. "No one went in there after you left except for me, and I didn't touch anything."

"Lead the way, Axel." Roxas murmured. "I'm giving control back to Sora. It makes me feel weird to be him; like a puppet-master. It's creepy." He blinked, and the light Axel could identify as Sora returned to the cerulean eyes. Axel spared a brief moment to wonder if being able to tell the difference between eyes that should be identical made him obsessive. No, he decided, just observant.

He stepped around the brunet. "Come on, Sora. Let's…" He stopped dead at the sight of the person standing in the doorway, who smirked at him in a way that was almost icy enough to kill his fire.

Sora hesitated, staring at the figure in an Organization coat, not recognizing the slender teen that wasn't much older than him. Roxas's voice spoke up to supply a name, to identify the face that Sora had never met. "_Zexion_. _Number VI, the Cloaked Schemer._"

Sora blinked, and noticed that Axel had stiffened, his guard up. "What do you want, Zexion?"

"Nice to see you too, Axel. Proof of Existence was right, then. We were all granted hearts of our own." Zexion raised a hand to imperiously brush his long bangs from his right eye. "You might think that I would be here for revenge on you, turncoat, but I am here for the Keybearer."

"No good to play dress-up, Zexion. No one else wants to relive the past." Axel snapped. "Stay away from them."

Zexion walked forward slowly, brushing effortlessly past Axel. The redhead whirled, aiming a punch at the shorter boy, but Zexion leaned back and, like a gymnast, executed a perfect back walkover to avoid the strike. He moved immediately upon being upright again, fluidly, ducking low to kick upwards and hit Axel in the chest. Axel stumbled backwards, and Zexion grinned wickedly. "Care to continue, neophyte?"

"We're not an Organization anymore, Zex. Hate to tell you, you little control-freak, but you're not my superior anymore." Axel started forward, prepared to pound the other into the grey carpet. But Zexion slipped out of the way, dipping low and sweeping his leg into the backs of Axel's knees, flooring him.

"Just because Lexaeus protected me does not mean I have no skill in fighting. I've put you on the floor without my weapon or my powers." Zexion smirked. "You should know better than to judge someone's ability by their appearance. Roxas fought Saïx and won, if I'm relating events correctly."

"You weren't even _alive_ for that!" Axel wheezed. Hitting the ground so hard had knocked the breath out of him.

"As I said." the illusionist murmured. "I am not here to explain myself to you, Axel. I am here for the Keybearer." He walked over to stand before Sora, his one visible eye a piercing, icy blue. Sora took a step back, prepared to call the Keyblade if he had to, and Zexion sighed. "I am also not here to harm you, Keybearer. I'm human now, in case you hadn't noticed, and a fight would be distinctly to my disadvantage. Our powers were weakened when we regained our hearts."

"What do you want with me?" Sora asked warily.

"Only to show you something. There are things that you need to know, especially if it was Roxas who led you here." Zexion said. He summoned his Lexicon, flipping it open and running his fingers down one page. Offering that hand to Sora, he said quietly, "This isn't just about you and Roxas. This is about all of us, and absolution for what we have done."

Sora hesitated, and even Roxas was wary of the older boy. VI had never been one of the friendliest of Organization XIII, and Roxas hadn't known him very long before the other was sent off to Castle Oblivion. Former ally or not, trust was something that hadn't had time to develop between them. But it was entirely Sora who finally reached out and tenuously grasped the other's hand. Zexion smiled wryly, and whispered breathily, "Don't let go."

"Wha-!" But Sora didn't get to finish the question before he felt himself thrown backwards into darkness.

"What are you doing?!" Axel had climbed to his feet, and staggered forward to grasp Zexion's shoulder. Sora stood perfectly still, his eyes glazed, seeing only the illusion that Zexion was presenting him with. Axel didn't yank Zexion away from him, which took enough self-control as it was, and managed to maintain at least a semi-civil tone as he said urgently, "That's not just Sora, Zexion! It's Roxas, too! You're hurting him!"

"If he lets go, it will mean that it's too much, and I will stop." Zexion said softly. "He's here to help Roxas, right? Then he needs to understand. He'll never be able to forgive us if he doesn't see this."

"What are you showing him?"

Zexion looked sad. "What we lost, when he brought about our defeats."

xXx

_Everything was white. White and cold and empty, a castle just like them, representing the emptiness in their own souls. Sora blinked, looking around, realizing he was alone, though he could still feel Zexion's hand in his grip. 'Don't let go,' the other had said, and Sora intended to listen._

_He started down the hallway, recognizing it as the one they had gone down to reach the Grey Area, and hurried along to emerge into the open space. To his surprise, a blond young man in an Organization coat was sitting on one of the couches, strumming an enormous blue sitar. Sora hesitated. What was his name again?_

_"Demyx." Roxas supplied helpfully, seeming as baffled as Sora. Demyx was lazily picking out a tune on the sitar, humming to himself as he composed, trying out the sounds before stringing them together. Sora watched as another member slipped out of a portal in the ceiling, drifting down upside-down to hover right over Demyx's head._

_"BOO!"_

_Demyx wailed, bolting to his feet and almost head-butting the other, who turned right-side-up and drifted down to the floor, laughing. Demyx turned on him, clutching his sitar to his chest. "Xigbar, that was mean! You scared me half to death!"_

_"Fear's an emotion, kiddo. No hearts." Xigbar pointed out between laughs, completely missing the point of his own statement, since amusement was technically an emotion too._

_Demyx pouted, looking like he was going to argue the part about not having hearts, but instead said stubbornly, "Zexy says that fear is an instinct, not an emotion."_

_Xigbar continued to laugh. "And 'Zexy' will do horrible things to you if he hears you call him that." He stopped laughing, pondering what Demyx had said for a moment. "He said that? Well, 'Zo was always the one with the funny ideas." The eyepatch-wearing man strolled out of the room, and Demyx sat down on the couch to sulk._

_Sora felt himself rushing backwards and away from the scene, and Zexion's voice said, "I never did anything horrible to Demyx. He had too much hope, even when such a thing shouldn't have been possible. And Xigbar liked to tease."_

_The next place that Sora found himself was one of the bedrooms, where Axel and a blue-haired man that Sora recognized as Saïx were sitting._

_"I just… I feel so empty!" Axel exclaimed, flicking sparks absently off the ends of his fingers in contrast to his agitated voice. "What makes humans' hearts shine so brightly, and why are we denied that?"_

_"That's why we have our plan, to get close to Xemnas and make sure his goals succeed at all costs." Saïx reminded him. "The other Elders are too content with the safe approach. This needs a push, or we'll remain this way forever. You're with me, right, Lea?"_

_"Yeah. We'll get our hearts back, and things will be right again…"_

_Again the rushing feeling, and Zexion's voice narrated, "Saïx and Axel wanted their hearts back desperately, possibly more so than the rest of us. They formed a plan, and that plan eventually had a hand in the deaths of our members at Castle Oblivion, including myself."_

_Another white hall, but this one was different, decorated with a motif of white roses everywhere. Two figures stood at the end of the hall, and a teenage girl. One of the figures in coats was clearly Zexion, and the other was a man with dusty-pink hair. The girl, Sora and Roxas both recognized, but with different feelings._

_"Naminé…" Sora felt confused, since he had only met her once, at the Altar of Naught at the end of everything. Roxas felt confused, because he knew nothing about the girl's life before he had met her in Twilight Town, where she tried to help him._

_Zexion nodded politely to the pink-haired man and disappeared in a swirl of darkness. The pink-haired man smiled, and reached for Naminé's hand, walking deeper into the castle._

_"Marluxia was named Lord of Castle Oblivion. As Lord of the Underground, I had some power, but not enough to openly stand against him, despite his treason. Naminé was merely caught up in the power struggles within the castle."_

_Sora found himself in an empty hall, still stark, startling white. It was completely plain except for the bodies of twelve Organization members, lying limply sprawled across the floor. Zexion's voice grew louder, demanding, "All we wanted was our hearts back! What right did that give you to murder us? What reason?"_

_Sora recoiled, feeling Roxas's consciousness freeze in absolute horror at the sight of his dead comrades. He took a step back, gripping Zexion's invisible hand tighter, as Demyx staggered to his feet, darkness and black blood trailing from open wounds._

_"I didn't want to fight you!" Demyx cried. "I was ordered to stall you, just for a few minutes! But fighting was the only way to stop you. You wouldn't take me seriously, and then you killed me!"_

_Xigbar, Luxord and Saïx got up as well, flanking Demyx, also bleeding black from multiple wounds. "We were trying to protect Xemnas, just long enough to get hearts of our own. You had murdered our other members, and we knew you wouldn't be stopped without a fight. You never waited, never stopped to try and figure out why we were fighting so hard! Did you even care, or did you just take the mouse-king's word that we were evil?"_

_Roxas was gasping faint sobs somewhere in his mind, and Sora could tell that if the blond were in a physical form, he would be crying. The feeling only doubled as Axel climbed to his feet, not bleeding, but with darkness flaking off of him and parts of his coat on fire._

_"I died for you, to save Roxas. Because you were Roxas. But you were the one who took him from me in the first place!" Axel yelled. "Why couldn't you just leave us alone?!"_

_"Axel!" Roxas wailed. Sora dropped to his knees, letting go of Zexion's hand and clapping his hands over his ears. He suddenly felt guilty. He never had stopped to ask any of the Organization __**why**__ they were doing any of the things they did. He had attacked first and asked questions later. He had simply believed Mickey and Yen Sid and everyone else who told him that Organization XIII needed to be destroyed. __**Why**__ hadn't mattered._

_When he let go of the invisible hand he's been gripping, the world rushed away again, _and he found himself back in the Grey Area, on his knees. Axel had run to his side, and Sora realized he was sobbing into the other's chest.

"What did I do?" he whispered brokenly. "What did I do?"

"Sora, Sora, it's okay." Axel said, wrapping his arms around the teen. "We don't blame you. We didn't have the best methods in the world. You got the wrong idea. It's not like we ever stopped to try to explain ourselves, either."

"Xemnas did. He said Nothing was loathed by Light and Dark, that Nobodies have no place." Sora mumbled. "Of course something like that would want to be whole again. But we didn't listen. Me, Riku, or the King."

"Well, Xemnas was a little off-kilter there near the end. Why do you think I left?" Axel laughed. "But, really, Sora, what's done is done, and we're all back now. The past is the past." At those words, he turned to look at the silver-blue-haired boy still dressed in Organization robes. Zexion rolled his eyes, stripping off the coat to reveal normal clothes underneath. He tossed the coat onto a chair.

"I wanted to make an impression for the Keyblade Master." He smirked. "When you're finished here, you should visit Castle Oblivion. I think it would be a very enlightening trip for you." He turned and walked away, disappearing down another hallway. When he was out of sight, Sora climbed back to his feet, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his glove.

"C'mon." he said, voice only slightly hinting that he had been crying. "Roxas wants to go to his room."

* * *

I have a deep and undying love for Zexion. 'Nuff said. He's the only one who ever speaks of the "bond they share as an Organization", if I'm quoting Days correctly.

He's also not the only one in the castle. XD Guess who shows up next?

Enjoy!  
Li


	7. Brother, My Brother

**Brother, My Brother**

Roxas's room was just like every other member's room: white walls, white floors, white bedcovers. There were no curtains in the tall window, but it no longer mattered, since the light of the false Kingdom Hearts was gone. Sora entered the room first, immediately walking over to look out the window. Every window in the castle had an amazing view, since they were so high above the neon-lit city. Tiny lights glittered far off into the distance, and Sora looked back at Axel, who had sat down on the bed.

"How far does the city extend?"

Axel shook his head. "We don't know. We explored pretty far, but we never found the end. It may not have any borders. This world is special, after all."

"What do you mean?" Sora wandered over to poke through the closet, which was filled with Organization coats, boots, and pants. Mentally, Roxas huffed. He didn't want to see those coats anymore.

"This is part of the space between worlds." Axel explained. "It's closer to Darkness than Light, but this world is primarily of Nothing, keeping it in balance. Twilight Town is another world that's between. Darkness and Light are in almost perfect balance, there. That's why Nobodies are either born into Twilight Town or here. Saïx and I were born on the Dark Beach. Roxas was born in Twilight Town."

Sora felt Roxas's confirmation and nodded to show that he understood. "Twilight Town always seemed… welcoming. Maybe it's because of Roxas." He walked over to the table beside the bed, opening the drawer. There was a pair of Organization gloves, generic and black, unhelpful to their purpose. There was a small scribbled note about something in Wonderland, but it was in Luxord's handwriting, according to Roxas. There was a half-empty pack of peppermint gum that had been bought in Twilight Town, but there was no sentimental memory attached to that. Sora closed the drawer in frustration. "There's nothing here to help us!"

Axel tilted his head curiously. "What are you looking for?"

"Something with meaning; something that was important to him… us… something."

Axel thought for a moment, then he lit up. "Wait here! Wait just a minute!" He dashed out of the room, leaving Sora to stare after him in confusion. Within moments, Axel had come back, and forced a small wooden stick into his hand. "Here! This! Use this!"

Sora turned it over in his hands, and realized it was an ice-cream stick with the word 'WINNER' written down one side. He frowned, but Roxas mentally lit up. "_This is mine! I left it here… I left it here for Axel when I left…_"

Sora stiffened suddenly, and Axel took a step back from the keyblader, uncertain what was happening. A glow very slowly crept up to surround Sora, vibrant blue, and the brunet reached into one of the many pockets on his shorts and pulled out a round blue crystal. With the crystal in one hand and the ice-cream stick in the other, he turned slowly to face Axel. Axel stared in surprise. Sora's eyes weren't his normal eyes, or even Roxas's eyes. They were solid blue, no pupil or whites visible.

_**"Axel."**_ The voice that he… _they_… spoke with seemed to echo, a bizarre fusion of Sora and Roxas's individual voices._**"We need to go to the Altar of Naught. We found what we came for."**_

The fire-wielder hesitated just a moment, then nodded. "It's still here. Not sure how, but it survived whatever the hell final fight you and Xemnas had." He looked puzzled at the blue aura still surrounding the teenager, but turned to lead the way to one of the castle's highest points.

xXx

When they reached the Altar, Axel hung back, watching as Sora/Roxas walked to the center. He could honestly call the young man before him by both names now. On the way up here, his image had been flickering, ever so faintly, back and forth between Sora and Roxas. Even now, as Axel kept his eyes on them, he fancied for a moment that it was Roxas walking out there, blond hair, checkerboard patterns, bi-colored pants, and all. The moment passed, and it was Sora again, but Axel had a guess of what was going to happen. Even if the false Kingdom Hearts no longer hung above, Altar of Naught was still symbolic.

He focused his wandering thoughts again just in time to hear the teen speak.

_**"We are at the altar. And we know what we have to do. For Kingdom Hearts…"**_ And for the barest of seconds, Roxas's voice sounded alone, "_Please, for me, the gift that was granted the rest…_"

Sora pulled out the Ultima Keyblade from the Light, lifting it and flipping it around to point at his own heart. Axel started forward, unsure, prepared to stop him, but Sora shook his head no.

_**"You had a dream, about a boy in a castle…"**_ Sora murmured, smiling. _**"I'm just retrieving him for you."**_ And with the fragment of song lyrics upon his lips, Sora drove the keyblade into his heart. There was a flash of blinding, brilliant white light, and Axel was forced to shield his eyes and lose sight of the brunet. When the light finally faded, he had to blink quite a few times to rid his vision of spots before focusing back on the altar. Two figures lay there now, one still very clearly Sora, and the other…

Axel made his way forward slowly, stopping at Sora first and checking his pulse. It still beat strongly, showing that the Keybearer was all right, and Axel moved over to kneel beside the other figure. He hesitantly reached out to run his fingers through strands of blond hair, almost unwilling to touch the boy, afraid that this would shatter and be another illusion or hopeless dream once again. The blond stirred, and Axel almost flinched, instead whispering faintly, hoping, praying, "Roxas?"

"Axel…?" Roxas sat up, shaking his head to clear the ringing from his ears. He paused for a moment, looking down at his own hands, taking in his own clothes and shoes and body. Wide blue eyes snapped up to focus on the redhead, and Axel suddenly found himself with an armful of overly enthusiastic Roxas. "Axel! It worked, it really worked!"

"Are you human?" Sora sat up as well, rubbing his head and looking between the two.

Roxas pressed a hand to his heart. "I've never felt so happy as a Nobody, so I must be. I must be!" As Sora climbed to his feet, Roxas scrambled out of Axel's arms, going over to embrace his Other. "Thank you, Sora. You… you didn't have to come here, but you gave me a chance. That's more than DiZ or Riku ever gave me."

Sora hugged him in return. "I don't know what I'm going to tell my mother. You are coming back to Destiny Islands with me, right?"

"I think I could suffer through being your brother." Roxas laughed. "After all, we fight like real brothers. And we are already related. I just… wonder if Riku would have a problem with me being around."

"Riku can keep his opinions to himself, or he'll get his ass kicked." Axel interjected. He looped his arms around Roxas from behind. "I'm not letting him hurt you anymore. Everything was his fault to begin with. If he had just stayed away from us, you wouldn't have left."

"We're not going to fight when we get back." Sora said. "I'm not going to let you all fight! Come on, we worked so hard to get to a point where everyone is happy; I won't let _any_ of you mess it up." He reached up and playfully poked Axel in the forehead, and Roxas swatted him away good-naturedly.

"One big happy family." Axel sighed. "Joy." He turned, Roxas still wrapped in his arms, and was again unpleasantly surprised by a former comrade staring at them. Vexen stood by the stairs that led down from the Altar of Naught, observing quietly. Unlike Zexion, he wasn't wearing the Organization's uniform, instead dressed in casual clothes with a white lab coat overtop.

"Vexen." Axel said neutrally. Sora blinked. He didn't know this one either. Roxas glanced at him worriedly, and whispered a quick explanation: "Vexen was Number Four. He's a scientist, studying the Darkness and Nobodies."

Vexen's green eyes were lit with excitement, the thrill for research that he could finally appreciate to its fullest. He came forward, glancing aside and not making eye contact with Axel. "Sora, Roxas. It is good to see you both, whole and separate. Sora, I see that you finally uncovered the mystery of the other side of your heart."

Sora had no idea what Vexen was talking about, but nodded regardless.

"Nice to see you too, Vexen." Axel said sarcastically. "Geez, hope you don't hold a grudge or anything." He folded his arms impatiently across his chest, glaring at the scientist. "You have a heart, now. Forgive and forget?"

"You murdered me, Axel. I _burned_. I don't think forgiveness will be that easy." Vexen snapped. He turned to Roxas and Sora, noting the shock on their faces, and said harshly, "Yes, your precious firebird here orchestrated all of Oblivion into a deathtrap. The rest of us reached a point where we fought only to survive unscathed, and Axel merely sat back and manipulated the strings of his puppets. Not just me. Larxene and Marluxia died through your manipulation of events, and Zexion fell before your scheming as well. Lexaeus was the only one who wasn't killed through your actions."

Axel scowled. "Marluxia and Larxene were traitors, you were going to reveal Roxas's existence to Sora for petty revenge, and Zexion would have played the situation to be my fault when we returned. I was covering my own ass. Do I regret having to kill you and Zexion? Now I do, since I have a heart to regret with. Let it go, Vexen. You're fine now. Go live your life."

"Wait, me?" Sora said, finally picking up on something. "Tell me about Roxas? But I've never met you."

Axel nudged him. "We're going to Oblivion later. There's a lot still to tell you." Sora frowned, unsatisfied, but was silent for the time being.

"Why are you here, Vexen?" Roxas asked the scientist, trying to dispel the tension.

Vexen smiled at the younger boy. "I was retrieving some of my research from the labs. I formulated a new theory as to why we were simply given hearts and not returned to our original selves." He pulled out a notebook and flipped to a page covered in heavily scribbled writing. "Seeing Roxas and Sora has only added to my theory. I believe that no matter what Xemnas initially thought, we were never going to go back to ourselves. Xehanort, Even, Aeleus, Lea, Rould…. All of them are gone, permanently. Even if we had found our Heartless and gotten our old hearts back, we would not have been complete, whole. We were apart from our Others for so long, we became our own people. That is why," he gestured at Sora and Roxas, "when they were returned to each other, Roxas did not return to the nonexistence he was before Sora unlocked his heart. He was so different and had experienced so much; they were no longer compatible as one being."

"…That actually explains a lot." Sora said, understanding what Vexen was trying to say. "Roxas's experiences with the Organization contributed to him having his own self." He frowned. "Zexion said almost the same thing. That all of you were your own selves."

"Zexion was here?" Vexen questioned. "I thought that I was the only one who would have any reason to return to this castle. Except for possibly Xemnas, and I have not seen him either."

"Zexion was here for us." Roxas said. "He… He showed us, Sora mostly, images from before, when we were still a complete Organization. And he showed us an illusion of all of you, lying dead…"

Vexen scowled. "Zexion likes to play mindgames. Ienzo was the worst little brat. Brilliant, but a terror." He chuckled. "Well, I offer no such things. I'm here only for my research, and I'll be going now." As he walked back to the stairs, he looked back only once, directing his final comment at Axel. "Take care of them, Axel." Then he was gone, much like Zexion.

Axel frowned. "At least he didn't throw a tantrum at me. Geez, could he be any more self-righteous? Although, Larx and Mar probably would want to massacre me. Thank goodness Vexen has more self-control than that." He turned to Sora and Roxas. "So, now where to? Are we going back to the islands?"

"There's something missing…" Roxas whispered. "Something still isn't right. I feel like I'm forgetting something. What mattered the most… Stupid how I remember it the least. It feels too important to forget, and here I am, struggling to remember."

"Maybe we should go to this Castle Oblivion place." Sora questioned. "Zexion said it would be enlightening for us, whatever that means."

Axel hesitated, but nodded. "I can lead you there. Even by gummi ship."

"Thank you!" Sora chimed. He turned to his former Nobody, holding up a hand. "This feels right. This feels like how things should be." He grinned as Roxas gave him a high five, laughing out loud. "Riku's going to be furious!"

* * *

Two months ago Vexen would not have appeared in anything that I wrote. I didn't like him. But I've been reading the Plot Bunny of Doom over on Livejournal, and Vexen took a level in badass when I wasn't looking. If you are a Kingdom Hearts fan and love the Castle Oblivion group, go read The Renegades. Seriously. Silvestris and Co. are on the last two chapters, and it's going to be EPIC.

Supporting fanfictions that aren't mine aside... What will our heroes possibly find in Castle Oblivion? Gee, I wonder. Oh Sora, your memories called, they want to come home now...

Kekeke...  
Li


	8. Out of Darkness

**Out of Darkness**

Destiny Islands was as bland as normal. It had only been a day since Sora left, but Riku was already antsy. What if something had happened to the brunet, alone in a world so close to the Darkness? Riku had his own personal experiences with the Darkness, and the thought of Sora facing such horrors was almost too much to bear.

He spent much of his time on the play island, sometimes with Kairi as company, sometimes without. The Princess was worried about their friend as well, but she had complete faith in Sora's abilities. She also had something else that Riku didn't, and that was belief in Roxas. Deep down, Kairi knew that Roxas wasn't out to hurt them, but it would take Riku a lot longer to gain such trust.

He was sitting on the beach at the play island when he noticed the strange things that seemed to be lurking just outside the edges of his vision. They looked like specters, grey-shrouded things with gold eyes glinting from under their loose cowls. They drifted along with no visible feet, and Riku was on his own feet in an instant, Way to the Dawn safely in his grasp. But the keyblade disintegrated into shards of light as a violent blast of wind struck him, throwing him far out into the water. Riku bobbed to the surface, and saw the specters simply watching him from the shore, as well as what looked like book pages scattered over the surface of the water. He was closest to the little paopu island, and set out to swim to the ladder. But there was something wrong. He flailed, but he didn't seem to be going anywhere.

He felt like he couldn't move, like the water was holding him fast in place, keeping him from getting back to the ladder to the little island. He struggled, but it was like wading through cold pudding or jell-o. He was tall enough that his feet could touch the bottom, so thankfully his face was above water, but it wasn't enough to get him to shore.

He became aware of the soft voice, whispering in a smooth, sensuous tone that begged to be trusted and listened to. "Bound by water, by darkness and light, by the powers of my Lexicon and the sound of my voice…"

_Lexicon…?_

Riku's eyes widened. He knew that voice! As awareness flooded his system, the grip the voice had on him dissolved, and the water became normal again. He splashed to the ladder, climbing up and directing a cold glare at the owner of the voice.

"Hello, Riku."

"You…" Riku growled, but was still unwilling to step forward. This man had nearly killed him once, after all. "How are you still alive, Zexion?"

The young man laughed, lying on his stomach on the paopu tree's trunk with his head resting on his elbows. Lazily he regarded the unhappy teenager through half-closed eyes, a perfectly calculated display of faux-tiredness. "You aren't happy to see me, Riku?"

"Just curious as to why you're back to haunt me, Nobody." Riku hissed, his hand itching with power as the keyblade flickered half-summoned in his grip.

Zexion laughed again. Bracing his hands on the tree trunk, he pushed himself gracefully to his feet, jumping down to face Riku fully. They were the same height, and Zexion noted it immediately. "You've grown since Oblivion."

"Enough with the pleasantries." Riku spat. "That doesn't explain why you're here."

There was a moment of hesitation. "I'm here, because Sora was in Never Was." Zexion said finally, seriously. "And I am here, because he will need you, and because I am no longer a Nobody."

Riku finally noticed that the other was no longer wearing the long leather Organization coat. Instead he was wearing a dark red-and-grey t-shirt, a loose black jacket, and black jeans. His feet were bare, but black-and-red sneakers with socks stuffed into them were sitting by the base of the tree.

Zexion turned away, going to retrieve his sneakers and socks and return to his seat on the tree to put them on. "Sixteen, now?" he questioned, already knowing the answer. Without waiting for Riku to respond, he continued, "Only two years to separate us now. We were never very far apart in age, Riku. If you had yielded to me in Oblivion, there would have been a place in the Organization for you, though I know how they treat people our age."

"I wouldn't have helped you!" Riku shouted. "Your Organization did nothing but mess up our worlds!"

Zexion smiled venomously. "Ahh, but Riku… Is that really true?"

"Of course it is!" Riku cried, unable to believe that the former Number VI was going to attempt to justify the Organization's actions.

"_Think_, just for one second, Riku. Disregard your king, your keyblade, and simply think as an outside observer." Zexion said, shoes now on, standing back up and walking over to look the boy in the eye. "Did we ever truly, truly hurt anything? We stirred up a few Heartless, maybe roused some Nobodies once in a while. But really our goal was to destroy Heartless, to create Kingdom Hearts. How was that any different than what the Keybearer was trying to accomplish?"

"You were trying to turn people into Heartless, too! At Beast's Castle…!"

Zexion closed his eyes. "Xaldin's actions at Beast's Castle were insubordinate and completely outside of our rules. It was code to not interfere in the worlds we visited… to not be seen by anyone. Xaldin broke those rules, and for that suffered at the Keybearer's hand."

"And the siege of Hollow Bastion? How will you justify that?" Riku spat.

"I was no longer around to stop them." Zexion snapped in return. "As I recall, I was murdered in Oblivion, and the neophytes were poisoning Xemnas's ideals. Particularly Saïx, whom I believe had an agenda of his own. Xaldin was already breaking rules, and Xigbar would not go against the Superior. Who would stop them?" He looked at the ground. "The things that bound us as an Organization in the beginning, they were fraying at the time of Oblivion. And after, there was no camaraderie left. But did the others deserve to be murdered simply for following orders? They were desperate."

"You can't murder something that doesn't exist." Riku growled.

Zexion smirked. "And that is why Roxas refused to speak to you. Because no matter how slim of an existence it was, we were here. You remember us, and you know us. Therefore, we were, and we are. Will you kill me again, Riku, knowing that now I am body and soul and heart once again, as humans are meant to be?"

"Not unless you try to hurt Sora or anyone else." Riku said stiffly. "I, for one, would like never to see you again."

Zexion shifted, a movement almost too fluid for Riku to follow, and was suddenly behind him. He was agile, and while he was never as strong as Lexaeus had been, he had muscles of his own. He was more than capable of holding his own in a fight. "Shall I show you what I showed Sora, Riku?" he whispered, leaning in too close, lips brushing Riku's ear. When there was no response, he sighed. "Sora is on his way to Oblivion as we speak, and I strongly suggest that you go there as well. He will need you, because when his sleeping memories awaken… There will be an old friend who will be eager to see you as well."

"Roxas?" Riku questioned, and Zexion laughed.

"No, no… A more distant friend than that. No more than a memory." He took a few steps back, piercing eyes still on Riku. "I went to Oblivion for answers, and the memories there told me everything…"

"Still speaking in riddles." Riku said sullenly. He glanced to the side as one of the grey-shrouded specters drifted up beside Zexion. Comprehension dawned, and he demanded in astonishment, "Those things are _yours_?!"

"Surely you encountered the different varieties of Nobodies on your journeys." Zexion said, smiling in genuine amusement at Riku's reaction. "There are thirteen types besides the lesser Nobodies. These are my Fallen."

Riku blinked. "But you're _human_. You said you were human."

"They apparently still look to us as their masters." Zexion shrugged. "I don't claim to know the answer. It is likely the same reason that our weapons still come to us when summoned, just as yours does, and why our powers haven't gone away. We are like you, only… something else." He waved a hand, and the few Fallen still drifting around disappeared. "I'm astonished you didn't kill any of them. Even Axel set one on fire the first time he saw it."

Riku rolled his eyes. "I'm going home. Really, I'd like to never see you again, but that's not going to be an option, I assume. At least don't stalk me, or anything creepy like that." He stalked off the island, obviously still uncomfortable with the former Nobody's presence. Zexion watched him walk all the way to the small dock on the other side of the beach, paddling away in the little boat to return to the mainland. One of his Fallen appeared, hovering at his side.

_**Follow, Schemer?**_

Zexion shook his head. "No. Let us leave little Riku to his sulking for the moment. Go home." The Fallen disappeared, and Zexion sat down to remove his shoes and socks once again, rolling up the bottom hems of his pants. He had a suspicion, and intended to follow through on it.

He made his way down to the beach, walking around past the small fence and around to the back side of the island. This side was the farthest from the rest of the islands, facing only the wide open ocean. There was faint music coming from farther along. Zexion walked slowly, actually feeling content for once. It was nice here. Small waves lapped at his bare feet as he walked, cold, but not uncomfortably so.

His sense of smell wasn't as strong as it had been previously, but it was still at least as good as Riku's. Likely better. Getting used to the weakening of his powers had been the difficult part, but he was certain that he could smell another Darkness-tainted human somewhere on this tiny island. Riku obviously hadn't noticed.

He found the source of both smell and music sitting in a small nook in the side of the rocky cliff. Cracking a smile, he enjoyed the fact that his deductions had been right. The sandy-haired human sitting before him was completely absorbed in his music, but as if he could sense the eye on him, he finally looked up.

"Zexy!" Demyx dropped his sitar, where it disappeared in a splash of water, and clambered to his feet to throw his arms around the shorter boy. "Did you get dropped into this world too? I thought I would have seen you before now!"

"Demyx, please let go of me." Zexion asked, biting back a faint laugh. The musician had always amused him back when they were Nobodies, simply because he had so much hope and so much determination that they _could_ feel. He supposed they had become friends, in a way. "Have you been here the whole time?"

Demyx released him from the hug, stepping back to kick absently at the sand. "Yeah! I mean, I woke up on the beach here in the middle of the night, so I swam over to the mainland. I got a little house, and I've been living here. It's only been two months… I didn't know if anyone else was out there." He grinned broadly. "But you're here! Does that mean everyone else is okay too?"

"I would guess so. I've seen Axel, and Proof of Existence seemed to indicate we'd all been given hearts." Zexion said. "I met Axel in Never Was with the Keybearer. They were trying to help Roxas." He frowned, a sudden thought striking him. "You've been living here two months, on the islands that the Keybearers call home? How did you avoid being discovered?"

"I didn't go near them. Sora killed me! Why would I want to see him?" Demyx asked. "I kept to myself, and I come back here to play sitar and relax, since no one comes around the back of the island." He flopped back down into the sand, staring off into the distance. "It didn't feel real, you know. Like everything with the Organization was just a silly dream or something. Everything here is so _normal_, things like Heartless and Nobodies feel like they were just something I made up." He glanced over as Zexion sat down beside him. "But now you're here, and I know I'm not crazy! That's the best thing."

"You were never crazy, Demyx." Zexion said quietly. "You were the only one who believed in our feelings so strongly." He felt pleased when Demyx smiled at him, and followed the other's example to lie on his back in the sand, staring at the clouds and listening to the sea. Maybe now everything could finally be over. Maybe they could all just start over, and live normal lives.

If only it could be that easy.

* * *

Demyx! Of course he'd end up somewhere pretty and sunny like Destiny Islands. :D

Zexion and Riku is a pairing that is a guilty pleasure of mine. It's not going to show up in this, but little moments like the above will. XD Poor Riku. Of all the ghosts from the past to come back to haunt him, I think only Ansem would have been worse.

Hugs and chibi!Demyxs for everyone!  
Li


	9. Consign to Oblivion

**Consign to Oblivion**

Riku was furious. How _dare_ that boy come here, to his home, and speak to him like that? Human or not, they had been mortal enemies, and neither were on good terms. So why would Zexion try to warn him about Sora's activities? He hurried to Kairi's house, desperate to speak to her. He had gone straight to the play island after school was over, and spent the afternoon there, so he had yet to see her since walking to school this morning.

The mayor, Kairi's father, informed him that Kairi had gone for a walk on the hills near the edge of town, and Riku set off to find her. The hills were just outside of town, and ended in cliffs overlooking the sea in the places where they didn't slope back down to beaches. He spotted the figure in the pink dress easily, standing up on top of the cliff, but there was another person there too, a girl in a white dress that Riku never thought he would see again.

"Kairi!" he called. Both turned to meet him, and quieter, he acknowledged, "Naminé…"

She smiled softly. "Riku." The young artist reached out to gently touch his face, running her fingertips over his cheek. "It's nice to see you with my own eyes."

He hesitated. "…What's going on?"

Kairi was the one who answered. "I could feel Sora. There was so much Light… It awoke Naminé, and all of a sudden we knew what to do. I used the Keyblade you gave me to unlock my heart, just like Sora did. He and Roxas are two separate people once again, and Naminé and I are as well."

"But, your heart…" Riku began, looking between the redhead and the blonde.

Naminé giggled. "I have a heart now. Kingdom Hearts is giving Organization XIII, and me as well, hearts of our own. I'm not going to question its mercy, especially after what I've done." She looked away, lowering her eyes, remembering the brutal overhaul of Sora's memories. He still didn't remember her or anything from Castle Oblivion.

"Sora's on his way to Castle Oblivion." Riku said. "I met Zexion on the play island, and he told me that Sora would need me. Kairi…"

She cut him off, protesting, "I'm not staying behind this time!"

"I wasn't going to ask you to." Riku said. "I want you and Naminé to come with me. Naminé knows the most about Oblivion, after all." He was nearly knocked over as both girls threw themselves at him, hugging him gratefully. They were sick and tired of being left behind, being told to wait and watch and not do anything to help. Even Naminé, shy, reserved Naminé, had her arms tight around him. She wasn't thrilled to be going back to Oblivion, but if it was for Sora and Riku… she would do anything.

"Oh!" Kairi said, suddenly realizing. "Sora took the gummi ship! How will we get to Castle Oblivion?"

Riku smirked. "You don't think I'd leave three of us with only one ship! I've been building one in my spare time. We'll be fine. All we have to do is break the news to our parents." He offered Naminé one arm and Kairi the other, and all three set out back towards town.

xXx

Sora had finally caved just before leaving Radiant Garden and bought an autopilot gummi from Cid. It was an easy enough thing to work. All you had to do was input the coordinates of the world you wanted, and it could take you there. So together, Sora and Axel had figured out the coordinates of Castle Oblivion, and let the ship fly itself into interspace in search of the twisted castle. In the back area of the little ship, there wasn't room for beds, so it was a tangled mess of blankets and pillows all over the floor. They had fallen asleep separately, but sometime in the night Axel had ended up against Roxas's back, one arm draped over the boy's waist, and Sora was asleep back-to-back with Axel. It was cold in interspace with the ship mostly powered down, and the redhead, despite his powers being weaker as a human, was still ridiculously warm.

It was some time in the early morning, according to Axel's internal clock, when the alarm for the autopilot went off. He sat bolt upright, looking around to find the source of the disturbance as the boys on either side of him continued contentedly sleeping away. Axel rolled his eyes, getting up from between them to check on the ship's course. They were close to the world, and the autopilot could only take them so far. Axel settled down in the pilot's chair. Despite what Sora might think, he did know how to fly a gummi ship. He eased the ship into place so they could safely enter Castle Oblivion, and then returned to the back of the ship to catch some more sleep. Roxas had rolled over, seeking the suddenly absent warmth, and ended up with an arm draped haphazardly over Sora. The pyro rolled his eyes again, pulling a blanket over himself.

"You know, I might be totally jealous if they weren't practically the same person. Or brothers, at least." he complained sleepily, drifting off.

xXx

Sora awoke next, blinking when he realized that the ship was no longer moving. He started to get up, and Axel murmured drowsily, "It's okay. We're at the castle. I just parked the ship so we could sleep some more."

"Oh." Sora flopped back into the pillows, groaning. "That's good…" He sighed, staring up at the blocky orange ceiling. "I don't know what's wrong… I don't really want to go in there anymore. I feel like everything is good right now, and if I go in there I'll find something that I wish I hadn't."

Axel was silent, thinking about what Castle Oblivion meant to both Sora and himself. If Sora remembered everything, he would know Axel's actions, the taunting and the fights and Vexen's murder. Roxas didn't know what went on in Oblivion either. Axel had never told him, trying to protect him from both the knowledge of Sora and the fact that his best friend was a traitorous murderer, striking down fellow members of the Organization. If Vexen hadn't said anything at the Castle in Never Was, they might not have ever had to find out.

When Roxas woke as well, they ate breakfast from the supplies Sora had brought from the islands, as well as what Aerith had insisted that they take with them from Radiant Garden. After that, it was a simple matter to descend into the world. They stood on the path leading up to the twisted castle, marveling at how different it was outside than inside.

"It reminds me of Hollow Bastion." Sora said. "With all the wacky towers going in all directions. I don't understand how the inside is so normal when the outside looks like that. At least at Hollow Bastion, the inside and outside matched!"

Axel said nothing, leading the way to the huge double-doors. When he opened them, there was an ominous creaking sound, and Sora paused for a split second as the sound assaulted his memory. But he said nothing, following along as they walked into the first of the blindingly white hallways.

Both Roxas and Sora immediately noticed the prominent flower motif present all over the castle; vases of white roses and images of the flowers carved in relief were everywhere. Roxas snagged a rose out of one of the vases, eyes widening in surprise as he realized that the flower was alive. "What's with all the flowers? I understand the white, since Never Was's castle was white, but flowers?"

Axel grinned. "Superior made Marluxia lord of the castle, and Marluxia's elemental affinity was flowers. Specifically sakura, but he likes all flowers. He picked the decorations." Quieter, he mused, "Though, sometimes it seemed his element was Death. You know, with all the symbolic stuff surrounding sakura petals, and that big scythe. Very grim-reaper-ish, right?"

They made their way through the floors in quick sequence. Without world-cards, there were simply ordinary white rooms to walk through between floors, making it much easier to reach the thirteenth floor. Sora looked at the sealed door at the end of the last hallway, and frowned.

"Marluxia was sealed in there…" he whispered. Axel glanced at him, and he said, faintly pleading, "Right? He was, but he'd be reborn now."

"He was." Axel acknowledged.

Roxas was next to speak, reaching up to press his hands to his head. "This is… this is where she was born… But who is she? I can't get a picture; I can't remember anything but the fact that there is a 'she'. She… Shi… Xi…"

"Xion."

Both boys, and Axel, whirled around. Sora gasped in astonishment. "Kairi! Naminé! What are you doing here?"

The two girls hurried over to them, and Kairi threw her arms around Sora. "Sora! Why didn't you tell us you were leaving? We were so worried; Riku brought us in his gummi ship to find you…"

"Where is Riku?" Sora questioned.

Kairi smiled. "He said he was going to walk around in the basement, but he said we'd find you up here. Naminé and I came looking. I unlocked my heart on Destiny Islands, so that's why she is here too."

This normally would have surprised Sora, but considering all that he had been through with Roxas, he merely nodded. Naminé embraced him, and both girls also hugged Roxas. Then Naminé stepped back, and said quietly to Roxas, "You mean Xion. That's the person you're talking about."

"…Xion…?" Roxas murmured. "That… sounds right… But why can't I remember?"

"I can tamper with the memories of Sora and those closest to him." Naminé explained. "Don't you remember, Roxas? I made you and everyone else forget her, because she believed it would be for the best. But I can bring those memories back. And Sora, I can give you back your memories of this castle. I've worked so hard, trying to figure out how to rework the links of your memories, and I finally figured it out. I can bring back the memories I had to seal away."

Sora blinked. "I've been here before…" He nodded. "Please, Naminé. I want to remember."

"Me too." Roxas whispered. "I feel like things won't be right until I remember her."

Naminé nodded. "I understand." She got them to sit, Sora, Roxas, and Axel, since Roxas's memories returning would affect Axel as well. Kairi sat back, just watching as Naminé went first to Sora, gently touching her fingertips to his temples. "The pictures are already drawn. They were never gotten rid of. All that remains, is to link them back in to the chain of memories in your heart." Sora felt like images were rushing through his mind; the white castle; Axel coming at him with fire and weapons; a giggling girl darting around him, brandishing knives, _Larxene?_; fighting with Donald and Goofy; the pink-haired Marluxia, _I will scatter your heart to the empty winds!_; Naminé smiling sadly at him; _Thank Naminé_…

"Thank Naminé…" he whispered. "That's what the message in the journal meant. You were going to fix my memories for me…" He looked up at her, his eyes wide. "Thank you, Naminé."

It was the gratitude she had never expected to receive, and for a moment the intense happiness she felt overwhelmed her. She covered her eyes, trying to hide the tears that formed without her consent. Emotions were tricky. She heard Sora asking frantically what the matter was, and she managed to say reassuringly, "I'm okay, Sora. I'm just… so _happy_."

Sora nodded, understanding, and glanced only once at Axel before looking away again. There would be time for questions later, but for now, better to focus on the task at hand. He watched Naminé approach Roxas, kneeling before the boy to touch his temples as well. "Same for you, Roxas. The pictures were never destroyed, merely put away. I can bring them back."

Roxas's eyes widened as memory after memory rushed back. The moment he first saw her face, finally freed from the dark confines of her hood, having ice cream with her for the first time, the moment that she and Axel became friends. He remembered Axel carrying her back to the castle after she fainted, standing up to Saïx when he called her 'broken'. He remembered losing her to Riku, fighting her to the death, and her dying wish: to never see Xemnas allowed to have Kingdom Hearts. A scream tore from his lips before he could stop it, and despite his own returning memories Axel lunged to grab him and tug him close.

"I gotcha, Rox." he managed to gasp out. Roxas struggled, fighting free from his grip and staggering over to Sora. Sora held up his hands, and Roxas grabbed on tightly, lacing his fingers with Sora's.

"She's both of us…" Roxas whispered. "My soul and power, and your memories… How do we get that back…?"

"Something had to be hers." Sora replied. He didn't know Xion, had no experience with the girl, but the words were pouring from him without his consent. "She experienced things just like you. She had her own memories as well as mine. Call out to them, and call her back."

Roxas hesitated. "…You ate ice cream with us. You called us your best friends. You left me seashells for every day that I was comatose…" His voice got stronger. "You ran from Axel and Xigbar on a mission. You fought me because Xemnas made you. All of that is yours! Not Sora, not me, _you_!! Come back, Xion!" And from the clasped hands of former Somebody and Nobody, white light burst forth, filling the room. When those present could see again, Naminé was the only one who dared to speak.

"Welcome back… Xion."

* * *

All of the players are now in place. Time to get this show on the road! XD

I blame Namine for no one remembering Xion. All that about how she was Sora's memories, and without them there was no 'her' to remember... Yeah. I want some of whatever crack Nomura-san was on. It's much easier to explain if you blame it on Namine. After all, Xion had memories of her own, of her time in the Organization. She was more than just Sora.

I take this game way too seriously. Happy Christmas, everybody!  
Li


	10. Complete

**Complete**

Xion's ocean eyes, a third duplicate of a familiar gaze, stared in horror around her. She seemed suddenly panicked, stumbling back to lean on the wall.

"What did you do?" she asked, afraid. "I'm supposed to be Sora, I can't…" Her eyes fell on Sora and Roxas, standing side-by-side in the white hallway. Roxas approached her slowly, opening his arms, and she threw herself at him in a hug. "I'm sorry…" she mumbled into his jacket. "I didn't want to fight you, I didn't want to do that to you, that's why I made her make you forget, I didn't want you to hurt…"

Axel walked over to hug them both, and Xion looked up at him with watery eyes and was about to speak, but he clapped a hand over her mouth. "Don't apologize, kiddo. You did what you thought was right, got it memorized? Same as Roxas, and Riku, and Sora. It's not your fault. If I had known what Xemnas was going to do to you, I wouldn't have taken you back there."

Xion turned to look at Naminé, who smiled and said, "We all have our own selves now, Xion. There's no need to worry." She looked over at Sora and Kairi, who nodded reassuringly, and was overwhelmed. None of them blamed her for all the hurt she had caused.

She looked up at Axel, who had an arm around her, and asked quietly, "What happened?"

xXx

Xion, as it turned out, had gone back to being dormant. Unlike Roxas, who was still aware of what was going on, she had sunk back into their combined consciousnesses, and had missed all of what had happened with the Organization. They told her the whole story, and when they finished, she only said, "I… I need to see Riku."

"I'll go with you." Roxas offered. "Both of us, we have peace to make with him. After all, if we're going back to live as Sora's siblings, we need to be on somewhat good terms with his best friend." Sora started to get up, but Roxas shook his head. "This is something we need to do on our own."

Sora nodded. "Riku will forgive you. He's a good guy, deep down. He just needs a little push."

Roxas nodded in return. "That's what I'm hoping. We have more reason to be angry with him than he does with us. We'll be okay."

xXx

Riku was sitting on a dark grey sofa in a small room in the lowest basement, brooding. His melancholy gaze was fixed on a small table across the room, where a single book rested, covered in dust. Riku figured it was left there by the final occupant in the room. With both Vexen and Lexaeus dead, Zexion must have read to pass the time, planning or scheming how to defeat Riku. The book had been placed on the table, and its owner had never returned.

Riku thought over what Zexion had asked him on Destiny Islands. _Did we ever truly hurt anything?_ Heartless and Nobodies could be gotten rid of easily. Stirring up trouble to provoke those same Heartless and Nobodies… trouble could die down on its own, or be resolved. The act of causing the trouble in the first place was wrong, but if there was no lasting harm…

He shook his head furiously. Organization XIII had been _evil_. They had been after Kingdom Hearts for their own agenda, something more than just retrieving their lost hearts. If that was the story that Xemnas had fed them, that building Kingdom Hearts would get them hearts of their own, then it was their fault for so blindly, faithfully following him.

Was faith an emotion?

Riku shook his head again. Maybe it was this place, so easily distracting. After all, so much had happened here, it was no wonder that the memories were assaulting him once again. He murmured quietly, "I never did find that room… the one that I woke up in. It's like… it doesn't exist."

The door eased open slowly, and Riku's eyes widened in surprise when he saw who stepped into the room. Twin sets of ocean-colored eyes gazed back at him, and Riku muttered almost inaudibly, "Roxas." As memories flickered back to life in his mind, he also greeted the girl who stood at Roxas's side. "Xion…"

Roxas hesitated, uncertain based on his own experiences with Riku, but Xion walked over and embraced the silver-haired teen. Riku, after that first battle, had never been unkind to her. He was there to support her, more than anything. He could have kidnapped her, taken her away from the Organization without her consent, but instead he gave her time to think everything over and reach a decision on her own.

Riku wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin in her hair and closing his eyes. He felt… guilty. In his own way, he had been giving her information biased in favor of his side. But knowing, after seeing the results of what Xemnas had done to her, what her true purpose had been, it was really best for everyone for her to return to Sora. But that didn't make it right. He found himself murmuring against the top of her head, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, Riku…" Xion replied. "I decided on my own. I would have only continued to hurt Roxas if I had stayed… and that was the last thing I wanted." She pulled away, stepping back to look at Roxas.

Roxas held out his hands in a gesture of goodwill. "I forgive you, Riku. Like Axel said upstairs, you were doing what you thought was right. I can't really hold a grudge against that."

"DiZ tortured you." Riku muttered. "And I let him. You were a piece of Sora, and I let him make you miserable, over and over and over."

Roxas smiled faintly. "DiZ didn't see me as a person, and obviously you now do. That's all that really matters. We're human now; we don't need to fight over souls and hearts and who's real or not. It's all over."

"Right…" Riku echoed, standing up to shake Roxas's hand. "It's over."

He returned with the two newest members of the Hikari family upstairs to the thirteenth floor, where Sora hugged him and apologized profusely for running off without him. There was a tiny staredown between Riku and Axel, until their respective keyblade-bearing best friends dragged them apart and admonished them to play nice. It was agreed that they would stay the night in the castle's entrance hall rather than return to the somewhat-cramped gummi ships. After all, there were seven of them now, and it would be unnecessarily awkward. So despite the uneasy feelings that came with remaining in Castle Oblivion, they were able to finally settle down and get a decent night's rest.

xXx

On a single world out there in the universe, there was a city. In this city it was almost painfully ordinary, with normal, average people making their way through the mundane tasks of daily life. Cars whizzed down the streets as the people inside hurried home, or to work, or to any number of places. Children went to school, and spent afternoons with friends at the mall. In essence, it was a perfectly normal world.

This world had remained untouched by the disaster of the Heartless. Despite the darkness in people's hearts, this world was so far from the center of the universe that no Heartless or Nobody had ever set foot upon its soil. Even if someone like Organization XIII were to make their way to this world, the distance was such that Heartless or Nobodies that were summoned would not come.

In a certain building on the edges of the city, doctors took care of those who were unable to care for themselves. Those mentally incapable, those living in their own worlds… and those who were simply crazy.

"Why the fuck won't you people believe me?!" the blonde girl raged, locked in her room where she had been for most of the last two months. Doctors wanted her kept away from other patients, since she had a tendency to hurt them on purpose. Outside the door, looking through the small window, a doctor tried to reason with her, as they had every day for two months.

"Relena, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just that what you're saying sounds…"

"Psychotic?" the girl demanded. "My name isn't Relena! Why won't you call me by my name?! I HAVE A NAME!"

The doctor cringed. "Relena is the name that you gave us; the one that you told us was your original name. The name that you want us to call you is part of the story you told us, and we feel that it's best that you disassociate yourself with the self-created reality that you built…"

"It's not a story!" she shrieked, the pain in her heart almost unbearable. They had given her some form of drug to keep her calm, and while it wasn't doing that despite her being on it constantly, it did impede her concentration enough to keep her from summoning her weapons, or her lightning. "My name is Larxene, I was Number XII in Organization XIII, and if you fuckers don't want to believe what I'm telling you, let me out so that I can go home!"

"Rel…" He hesitated at using the name they had given her. "…Larxene, this story you've told us, the No-hearts…"

"_Nobodies_." Larxene snapped dangerously.

"Right, these nobody things… You said that they were beings without a heart, and that you were one. But that is physically and medically impossible. You wouldn't be alive now." the doctor said soothingly. "Clearly you have a heart, Larxene."

"I have a heart _now_." Larxene growled. "Kingdom Hearts somehow gave it back; I told you that. But it wasn't a _physical_ heart I was missing; that's what that quack Vexen said…"

"Larxene, you say that your friends, these other people… You were killed in a castle somewhere. You and Marx and…"

"Marluxia, and that backstabber Axel, and all those underground _rats_ in the basement…" Larxene seethed. "I don't even know if I'm the only one back. _Axel_ certainly didn't deserve a heart back, double-crossing and murdering _everyone_…" She dissolved into grumbling viciously about what _exactly_ she would do to 'Axel' if she saw him again, and the doctor took the opportunity to slink away to retrieve a fresh dose of medicine. Not that the medicine ever did any good…

Larxene saw him leave, but didn't comment. The only thing that made her react at all was a soft whispering sound from across the room. She looked up, astonished at the dark portal that had appeared. A man stepped out, closing the way behind him, and she stood up from the bed and threw herself at him, relief killing all of her previous anger. She didn't want to stab him or scream at him or anything.

"I knew I wasn't crazy; they just wouldn't fucking _listen_ to me! It did all actually happen; I didn't make it up…"

Arms wrapped around her, and he smiled fondly. "I know, love. I know." Teal eyes bright with new-emotion looked down at her, and Marluxia laughed softly. "I thought I was crazy for a while too. Or most definitely dead." The pink-haired former Nobody stepped back from her hug, looking her over. "What have they been doing to you in this place?"

"They think I'm delusional!" Larxene raved. "Just because this world is untouched by the Darkness… They're blind if they think it doesn't exist! It's not just a story!"

Marluxia shook his head, princely air undiminished by becoming human. "Fools. It's best we leave, then, or our presence will attract the Dark eventually. It seems, my dear, we are once again to be embroiled in conflict."

"Conflict?" Larxene's eyes gleamed at the promise of a fight. "Who's done something idiotic this time?"

"Everyone is up to their usual tricks, but surprisingly enough, we have unexpected allies this time around." Marluxia smiled. "I will tell you more once we are well away from here. This world makes me nervous."

"Yeah, nervous as in 'you'll be locked up as a crazy too.'" Larxene jibed. "Come on, Mar, you can tell me!" But footsteps outside the door alerted them to the doctor's return, and Marluxia opened a portal.

"Come. I will tell you everything once we reach home."

Larxene followed him through without protest, and when the doctor finally reached the door to the little cell, all that was left was a fading wisp of darkness from the portal's closing. The doctor stared at this wisp until it faded to nothing, somewhere in his mind making the connection between what he had seen and the story that Relena had told him. Very slowly, he turned and walked away from the door, and pretended that nothing had happened.

* * *

Hey look, it's the plot! Kinda. Yay for Marluxia!

Saix's real name is Isa and he and Lea lived in Radiant Garden and they're going to be in Birth by Sleep! SQUEEEE! They make for adorable teenagers. XD And Square is putting ZACK in BBS too!!! I love Zack so much... (explodes from joy)

Hugs!  
Li


	11. Organization and Family

**Organization and Family**

Xigbar was watching Xemnas with a kind of quiet curiousness. It was really something, how far they had come. It was ten years or so ago that he had first met Xehanort, a space-cadet of a young man. Oh, he was a brilliant scientist, when he wasn't carrying on animated conversations with the refrigerator or the paintings in the hallway or the lounge curtains. Braig had wondered for weeks where Ansem the Wise had found this kid, and eventually Xehanort became less spacey and more like a normal human being. He was the most brilliant of all of them, rivaling the dream team of Even and Ienzo all by himself. It was Ienzo's silver tongue that had gotten them their lab, but it was Xehanort who had pushed their research further than it had ever been, leading them into the Darkness.

Xigbar was quite sure it would one day be romanticized into the history books; possibly something quaint about the "Fall of Radiant Garden". Who would history place the blame on? The king who could not control his apprentices, the child-apprentice who talked the king into giving them the tools they needed, or the apprentices who continued even after they were told to stop? Personally, Xigbar figured they couldn't blame Ienzo. He had been young, eager to learn. They who were older should have put a stop to it. But they didn't. Something about Xehanort made them want to follow where he led. It was the same something that had drawn them together as an Organization years later, when suddenly that space-cadet man who talked to refrigerators was the one they were calling 'Superior'.

Speaking of the Superior…

He didn't talk to curtains anymore, but Xemnas was still just the slightest bit off in the head. Xigbar had noticed even before their strange rebirth. A piece of that man was somewhere else, some other place and time, lost in memories none of them knew the first thing about. Xigbar had spied enough to know it was something to do with the Chambers. Repose and Waking. What did Xemnas hope to find? Was that why he wanted Kingdom Hearts? Did he think it would help him find the Chamber of Waking? What did he think was in there? Too many questions, but Xigbar wouldn't pry. He would follow Xemnas to the ends of the universe, just as Braig had followed Xehanort unquestioningly into the Darkness.

A dark portal flickered into existence across the room, and Xaldin stepped out. All of them were thankful that their ability to manipulate the portals was one that had remained. Even as humans, they were close enough to the Dark to manipulate it some. Xaldin strode across the room to where they were sitting, and said in a quiet voice, "The keybearers have completely left Never Was, as have any stragglers to the Organization."

Xemnas finally looked up from where he had been staring sightlessly at the floor. "Who was there?"

"Zexion was there briefly, and Vexen was in the labs." Xaldin replied. "Both have departed, for where I do not know. Axel was with the Keybearer, as was Roxas."

"Thirteen received a heart…" Xemnas mused. "Though he was the only one of us to return to his Somebody, Kingdom Hearts granted him individuality as well. Interesting…" A smile that seemed slightly crazed, to Xigbar at least, spread over his face. "Well then… It is time for us to return to Never Was."

xXx

The seven from Castle Oblivion were on their way back to the Destiny Islands. Riku had taken the girls in his ship, leaving Axel, Roxas, and Sora to take the Highwind back. Sora had turned the autopilot on again, and they were sitting in almost complete silence around the back room. He had gotten Roxas to tell him about Xion, but once that topic was exhausted, they lapsed into silence, not wanting to bring up the other topic that all of them questioned to some extent.

It was Roxas who finally worked up the nerve to look at his best friend. "Axel… about Oblivion…" he began hesitantly. "Is it true? Did you… murder people?"

Axel sighed. "I don't think that I've told anyone the whole truth about Oblivion, or anything. Yeah, Rox. I killed them. At least, Vexen and Zexion I did. Marluxia and Larxene had it coming. They betrayed us. Sora, you remember, they wanted to use you as a weapon to take over the Organization."

Sora nodded. "I remember you… setting Vexen on fire. I didn't understand…"

"Vexen… had been doing sensitive research on Replicas." Axel explained quietly. "He got in a bad way with Marluxia. In hindsight, he shouldn't have ventured aboveground at all, and he would have lived to return to Never Was. But he took you to that memory-world of Twilight Town, and Marluxia ordered me to kill him before he could tell you anything vital about the Organization or Roxas.

"At that point, I was angry, too. If you were to learn of Roxas… I was certain you wouldn't rest until you'd found him and taken him away from us… from me. So it was anger and spite that killed Vexen as well. Zexion… was another story."

Sora blinked. "I never met Zexion in Oblivion. Was he working with you?"

Axel shook his head. "Zexion stayed in the basement where he belonged. He and Lexaeus were coddling Riku, but we didn't know that at the time. That's not why he died." He glanced at Roxas. "Do you know about me and Saïx?"

"You joined the Organization at the same time." Roxas said. "Wait… Is this about that memory Zexion showed us, you and him talking about a 'plan'?"

"Right." Axel twiddled his thumbs absently for a moment. "Isa and Lea were best friends as Somebodies. When we joined the Organization, we realized that the Elders were taking everything too slow and careful. We made a plan to get as close to Xemnas as we could, and push his plans to happen faster. But there were… obstacles." He held up both hands, waving one. "Xigbar and Xaldin, they were content to follow Xemnas, no questions asked. Those two were the most loyal out of everyone… well, at the time. Obviously Xaldin went off the deep end somewhere…" He waved his other hand. "Anyway, it was the other Elders we had to worry about. Vexen was smart, despite his temper and all other unpleasant personality traits. Zexion had the Superior's ear, and Lexaeus would follow Zexion to the ends of the universe. He was more devoted to that kid than he was to Xemnas, that's for sure."

"So you needed a way to surpass them?" Roxas asked.

"'Surpass' isn't the best word." Axel said. "Saïx put together the team who went to Castle Oblivion. He was pretty much second-in-command by that point, but there were still the other Elders to deal with. Oblivion was an unspoken communication between us. Obviously it was to rid our Order of traitors, but it was to further our own plan too. Vexen sealed his own fate, and Lexaeus met his end at Riku's hand. But Zexion… I killed Zexion because that's how Saïx would have wanted it. Zex was closest to the Superior, and that was the position Saïx needed to have."

Sora flinched, and Roxas shivered, and Axel shook his head. "But that's over. Rox, you and Xion showed me that maybe our plan wasn't the best idea, and I regret killing Zex and Vexen. I sincerely regret it." He sighed. "All the way to the top, I opened the way for him… and he still managed to trip on the way up. Now I see it wasn't worth it. I lied to both of you, especially you, Roxas, so much…"

"Don't worry about me." Sora said. When Axel looked at him questioningly, he elaborated, "I doubt I would have listened to you then, if you had tried to explain anything to me. I didn't want to hear what any of you were saying. Vexen tried to tell me that Riku was a fake, and I didn't listen. It took Larxene literally beating it into me for it to sink in."

Axel nodded silently, astonished at how easily his sins were forgiven. But one tiny corner of his mind pointed out that this was still _Sora_, the same Sora who had convinced himself that Riku wasn't giving in to the Darkness. Of course Sora would forgive him. He looked over at Roxas warily. The blond had always been much more sensitive about being lied to.

Roxas was staring at the floor of the ship, deep in thought. "…You were trying to protect me, weren't you?" he asked. Before Axel could answer, he continued, "You knew it was either me or Xion, and I didn't want to listen either. I guess I can't blame you for trying to keep me safe from Riku. After all, look at where leaving got me." He got up and walked over to sit next to the redhead, leaning on his shoulder absently. "It's my fault too."

"Aww, it's okay. As long as you forgive me, Roxy!" The sappy words and their meaning were effectively killed by the use of the nickname and the wicked grin on Axel's face. Roxas reached up to smack him, and it dissolved into a scuffle on the floor, which Sora quickly excused himself from, laughing as he went to check the autopilot.

xXx

They arrived home first, disembarking on the play island. It was only a short wait before Riku and the girls arrived as well, and they set off in the little boats back to the mainland. Kairi and Naminé, before departing for Oblivion, had already explained the situation to Kairi's father. He was unnerved, and rather surprised at gaining another daughter so suddenly, but it didn't particularly faze him. After all, he had adopted Kairi after she appeared out of nowhere from another world. Another stray teen wasn't a big deal. It was Sora's mother they were going to have to worry about; the shock of gaining two more children might be a bit much for her.

Sora hesitantly dug in one of his many pockets, pulling out his house-key and unlocking the front door. "Mom? I'm back… Are you home?"

Mrs. Hikari hurried out of one of the rooms farther in the house, sweeping Sora into a tremendous hug that nearly crushed him. "Sora, I'm so happy you're safe!" She released him to step back and scan her eyes over the rest of the group. "Riku, Kairi, it's good to know you're okay too. Sora, who are your other friends?"

Sora hesitated, then turned to beckon Roxas and Xion forward. He indicated the blond first. "This is Roxas. He… He's my Nobody, Mom. See, in Hollow Bastion…"

"I know, Sora." Mrs. Hikari interrupted. "Riku told me everything."

Sora blinked. "Oh… But yeah, this is Roxas. And this," he said, pointing at the raven-haired girl, "is Xion. She's… Like Roxas's and my Nobody, together. But they have hearts now, so they're not Nobodies anymore." He frowned. "They're like my siblings, Mom. They can stay here, right?"

Mrs. Hikari smiled fondly. "Of course, Sora." She moved to wrap Roxas and Xion in a tight hug that left both breathless. Roxas had never had a family beside the Organization. Even in Data Twilight Town, he lived alone. His 'parents', the programs DiZ had created, were on a business trip that week. Xion had barely had the Organization, just Roxas and Axel, really. Both were overwhelmed at the amount of affection being showered on them at once.

"So, those last two are…?"

"Naminé, Kairi's former Nobody, and Axel, Roxas's best friend." Sora finished explaining. His mother looked up sharply at Axel's name.

"He was one of Organization XIII. I recognize the name." she said warily. She recognized Naminé's name too, but opted not to say anything. Sora had nothing but kind words for the girl.

"He's the one… the one who died to save me, Mom." Sora murmured. "He's a good person."

His mother hesitated, but finally offered a hand to shake Axel's. "If my son and his friends trust you, I have no reason not to."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Axel replied, unnaturally polite. He wanted to be allowed near his teenage friends, after all, so good impressions were important.

Sora smiled widely. "I should give you guys a tour of the island!" he chimed. "Roxas and Axel haven't seen the town before, not really."

"We can take Xion shopping!" Kairi added, looking over at the girl still dressed in an Organization coat. "It'll be fun!"

Sora walked over, throwing open the front door flamboyantly. "Let's go!" he declared, and promptly walked into the person standing in the doorway, hand raised as if he had been about to knock. Several things happened at once. Xion, Roxas, and Axel gasped in surprise, "Demyx?", Sora fought the urge to draw his keyblade, and Demyx turned white as a sheet. The musician's mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally found his voice.

"I need your help."

* * *

Plot! How fantastic! XD

Xemnas... isn't quite all there in the head. I personally think he's absolutely batshit insane, in that "conniving (coughlovablecough) evil genius" kind of way. He's the only person I can think of who is THAT good at Xanatos Speed Chess, after all. (TV Tropes eats my soul. ^_^)

And what on earth could possibly make Demyx brave his Sora-phobia to ask for help? The bad news is that I caught up with my writing, so chapter eleven isn't exactly finished yet. But I will finish soon!

Onwards!  
Li


	12. Confluence

**Confluence**

_"Demyx?" Zexion asked, staring up at the perfect cloudless sky. He had stayed the night in Demyx's guest bedroom, not really having anywhere else to go, and had accompanied the sitar player to one of the cliffs at the edges of the main island. The play island could be seen, not too far away to be reached by the little boats the children used._

_"Yeah?" Demyx's fingers were tapping absently at a rock, even without his sitar, stringing together tempo and chords mentally. Zexion watched him for another moment, then opened his mouth to speak._

_"Do you think that Kingdom Hearts spared us because we were doing the right thing? Was… was it the keybearers who were in the wrong?" Normally, he wouldn't ask such a philosophical question, but it had been bothering him, and he found himself unable to answer the question to his satisfaction on his own._

_Demyx turned to look at him, surprise evident in blue-green eyes. "Of course not." he said confidently, like the answer was obvious. "Neither of our sides was in the wrong. But neither of us was right either." He smiled sheepishly as Zexion stared at him. "I mean, we did some bad things. We set Heartless on people and disrupted worlds, and don't even get me started on Xaldin… But the keybearer didn't try to understand. He just assumed we were evil and killed us. We weren't right, he wasn't right, so it doesn't really matter."_

_Zexion resisted the urge to gape at the musician. He had never heard something so… logical out of Demyx before. Instead of responding, he simply nodded and went back to staring at the sky. "Makes you wonder what the rest of the Organization is doing with their second chances. It's so peaceful here… Hopefully Marluxia ended up in an asylum somewhere."_

_Demyx burst into laughter, and Zexion managed a straight face for a few more seconds before giving in and laughing as well. But the moment was cut short by the unmistakable sound of a portal opening. Both were on their feet in an instant, turning to face the corridor of Darkness. A familiar face appeared, and Zexion blinked in surprise. "Saïx?"_

_The blunette man didn't speak, but walked over and grabbed Zexion by the wrist, pulling him back towards the portal._

_"What are you doing?!" Demyx shouted. "Saïx, stop it!"_

_"VII!" Zexion said sharply, hoping that the rank would deter the berserker. But Saïx seemed to have fully gotten the concept that they were no longer an organization, and didn't even hesitate. Zexion tried to twist his wrist free, but it didn't help. Saïx, when determined, was one of the strongest of them physically, matched only by Xaldin and Lexaeus. "VII, let go of me! Explain yourself!" The demands came out slightly higher-pitched than usual, as he realized he wasn't going to be able to break the other's grip._

_Saïx paused for the briefest of moments to growl, "Ask questions at a more appropriate time, Zexion. We'll explain later."_

_Demyx called his sitar, prepared to at least try to stand up to the former Luna Diviner, but it was too late. Saïx had dragged Zexion through the portal and disappeared. Demyx dropped the sitar, covering his eyes with his hands._

_"Aww man! No way!"_

xXx

Sora listened to the whole story that the Nocturne told them, frowning in obvious confusion. They were sitting around the Keyblade Master's living room, sprawled all over the sofa, chairs, and carpet. Axel, Roxas, Naminé, and Xion were silent, faces pale at the thought of Saïx wandering the worlds kidnapping people. Without realizing it, the fire-wielder had a hand gripping the hem of Roxas's shirt, as if afraid that at any second, the berserker would appear to snatch the blond boy away too.

Riku kept his thoughts to himself, thinking of the blue-haired man whom he had stopped from attacking Kairi and Naminé during the final 'siege' of Never Was. He hadn't been afraid of Saïx, per say, but there was something about him that was just… unnerving.

Kairi winced, glancing across the room at Axel. It had been Saïx who had taken her away from the redhead after Axel had retrieved her from Twilight Town. Neither had harmed her, but Saïx was so… empty. It had been frightening.

_"Sonovabitch! This is how you treat your best friend?" Anger and fire from the redhead, something she had learned to expect from him. He was like the flames themselves, warm, gentle, unless handled the wrong way._

_"XIII is your best friend, not me." This new person was cold, blank. She didn't understand how someone could sound so lifeless, even when trying to attack someone who, if the matching coats were any indication, was a companion or colleague._

_"Think of the plan we made! It's not going to work, but you can let me do things my way, right?" Axel apparently didn't want to fight. Maybe the blue-haired man was stronger._

_"Traitors must be eliminated. The Organization doesn't accept turncoats, and you are out of chances."_

Kairi shivered. Saïx had nearly killed him, but Axel had escaped at the last moment. Piecing together what had happened later from Sora's story, the fire elemental had gone to Sora after that, fighting despite not being at full strength, and had used an attack that overtaxed and killed him. If Saïx was back…

"Demyx." Sora said finally. The musician looked up from where he'd been staring determinedly at the carpet. Sora just looked at him for a few seconds, then asked, "Do you have any idea where Saïx would have taken Zexion?"

Demyx shook his head. "He didn't say anything to give any clues. All he said was 'We'll explain later'. That means it's more than just him!" He slouched further in the chair. "I'm so not the right guy to go up against Saïx, especially if he has backup!"

"Who would his backup _be_?" Axel asked. "No one really _liked_ Saïx 'cept for me and the Superior. I mean, people listened, 'cause he was second-in-command, but as for teaming up with him in the next life… I can't see it. Not if they had their hearts already."

"We'll figure it out!" Sora said confidently. "We'll find Zexion and whatever Saïx is planning, and we'll put a stop to it!"

Roxas and Riku both muffled a snort at the brunet's unquenchable optimism, glanced at each other, and promptly burst into laughter. This resulted in nothing productive being done for at least ten minutes as the others demanded to know what they were laughing at, and Sora tackled Riku when he figured it out. It was at that moment, thankfully, that Mrs. Hikari returned. She broke up the fighting teenagers, asked what was going on, and received the abridged explanation.

"Is there anywhere that you've been that would be the most likely for these people to be hiding in?" she asked, trying to be logical.

"We've been to Never Was and Oblivion, and didn't see anyone…" Roxas said. "Zexion was in Never Was, and I assume he came here after that. Vexen was there too, but he said he was only there for his research…"

"There aren't many places for them to hide. We should split up; go back and check the castles." Riku pointed out. "Radiant Garden; most of the Organization came from there, right? Possibly the mansion in Twilight Town…"

"Split up?" It didn't matter who had asked the question, since the entire group seemed uneasy about the idea. For one thing, there were those of them who still weren't comfortable with others. Riku and Roxas had reached a truce, but they were far from being best buddies. Demyx was wary of Sora, to the point where he was sitting as far across the room from him as he could while still being part of the group. And while it didn't count as 'not being comfortable', Axel wasn't letting Roxas out of his sight now that he had XIII back again.

"That seems like a perfectly good idea!" Sora's mother said encouragingly. "You'll be sure to find him if you all look."

They looked at each other uneasily, but eventually nodded in agreement.

xXx

"I don't like this!" Demyx objected some time later. Axel snorted in amusement, nudging the water-elemental in the shoulder.

"Oh, come one, Dem! Just think! With two keybearers along, you won't have to do much work at all!"

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Demyx glanced at Sora and Riku uneasily. The three of them were returning to Never Was, looking for any sign of Zexion or Saïx. Axel and Roxas were going to Castle Oblivion, to give it another once-over. And (assuming that their friends in Radiant Garden would know the Organization if they saw them) Naminé, Xion, and Kairi were going to Twilight Town to check out the mansion. It was deemed the least dangerous place, so between the three of them, they should have no problems.

Demyx wasn't particularly thrilled with who he was going with; considering all circumstances of his death he had developed a very strong Sora-phobia. It didn't matter if they were human now, it didn't matter if Sora had forgiven them… That was what made it a phobia, right? An irrational fear. Demyx just knew that he never wanted to be in a position like that ever again.

"Let's go!" Sora shouted from the doorway, a huge grin on his face like they were going somewhere much more pleasant than the hideouts of their former enemies or allies. Demyx sighed, looked at Axel pleadingly one last time, and followed Sora and Riku. It was going to be a long couple of days.

xXx

Zexion had fallen unconscious somewhere in the Darkness, though whether because of Saïx or because of the toll the Darkness took on a human, he didn't know. He did know that when he woke up the room was dark, and a glance out the window confirmed a night sky above. The sky was all he could see without moving, and really he was very comfortable where he was, tucked into bed. It surprised him that Saïx would take the time to leave him somewhere nice after kidnapping him. He had been to Oblivion, after all, and the memories there had told him of Axel and Saïx's plan, and his own murder's motivations.

He curled into the warmth of thick quilts, deciding that if his captor had left him here, he might as well feign sleep for as long as he could get away with it. The Darkness tore at them now, regardless of coats or anything else they might do to protect themselves, and he felt weaker than he should. He started to drift off, but snapped immediately back to awareness as he heard the door open. He forced his breathing to remain even, to deceive whoever it was into thinking he was still unconscious, but couldn't hold back a gasp when he realized who it was who had come to check on him.

"You are awake." the voice rumbled, and Zexion sat up, struggling to speak, feeling his own voice almost cracking from hesitation, sudden relief and sudden guilt warring in his new heart.

"Lexaeus… Lexaeus…" he stammered, reaching out. Lexaeus seemed to realize what he intended, and caught the fragile-seeming hand within his own larger one, squeezing reassuringly.

"The others will be pleased to know that you have recovered." The earth-elemental seemed the same as he always was, calm and reasonable, something reassuring in all the craziness that had been Zexion's past few hours. He had no way of knowing how long he had been unconscious. Lexaeus seemed to sense his semi-frantic puzzling, and said by way of explanation, "Saïx said that you had passed out in the Darkness. It has been four hours."

"Thank you…" Zexion whispered. The larger man had always been there for him, when they were in the Organization and even before. When no one had wanted to respect him, the too-short, too-childish youngest apprentice, Aeleus had been there too. And in return he had… had… "Lexaeus… I…"

Lexaeus interrupted, something he never would have done before, and said easily, "We should walk; the others are waiting elsewhere. Come." He helped Zexion stand, making sure the smaller man had his balance before letting go. "Everything will be explained."

And Zexion had no choice but to follow.

* * *

La la la...

Zexion and Lexaeus together again! That opens up a massive wound, because of what happened in Castle Oblivion. Poor Zexi.

(sniffle) I just finished reading the last chapter of Renegades over on Livejournal, so I'm all tearful and stuff. Just like Kingdom Hearts itself, they left it all ambiguous. T.T But it was _beautiful_. ALL OF YOU should go read it, seriously. I want it to be canon...

The last post of 09! I dunno what time it is where you are. It's about 7:00 pm here. Happy New Year, everyone! May 2010 be just as awesome!  
Li

P.S. To Beth, who is awesome even though there is no review reply button: I think the title of chapter 10 threw you off. It's not going to be over for a while. As for BBS, I'm not sure yet. I've got lots of research to do first. XD Thanks for all the reviews!


	13. Unlikely Allies

**Unlikely Allies**

They appeared to be in a hotel of some kind. The room Zexion had woken up in was blue, but it led out into a long hallway lined with numbered doors. Saïx had apparently found it amusing to leave him in room six. Unless it was Lexaeus who had taken care of him?

He blinked anxiously at the back of the Silent Hero, who was currently earning his name as they walked down the hallway. Zexion didn't like this. There had been silences, plenty of silences with all the time they had spent in each other's presence. But none of those had ever been this uncomfortable. He had to speak, had to get this crushing feeling off of his chest, this pain where his heart beat.

"Lexaeus… About Oblivion…"

The Hero finally stopped at that, turning around to look at him with dark eyes full of something like amusement, but not quite. "Do not trouble yourself, Zexion. Oblivion is behind us."

"Don't trouble…?" Zexion found it difficult to grasp what Lexaeus had said. "Lexaeus, I sent you to _die_!" he said shrilly. "I knew the consequences if Riku used his dark power, and I asked you to go anyway! How can you say…?" But he trailed off at the look on the face of the one person who could quite possibly be labeled his best friend.

"I knew the consequences as well." Lexaeus said gravely, staring him right in the eyes. "And I chose to obey what you asked of me. Because it was you. And my only regret is having started a fight I could not win, because I failed you."

Zexion blinked in astonishment. He had not expected forgiveness. No, it wasn't even forgiveness, because Lexaeus didn't even blame him in the first place. He blamed himself. Quietly, he acknowledged, "It seems we were both incorrect, then."

"Indeed it does." Lexaeus put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Come along. The others will be waiting."

"Lexaeus, _what_ others?" But Zexion's query was ignored, and he was steered towards the exit of the small hotel. He allowed himself to be guided out the front doors, and stepped out onto a night-dark street lit with gas lamps. Neon signs from nearby shops gleamed, though the shops themselves were dark and mostly deserted. Zexion allowed his eyes to skim the area, taking in the center courtyard and fountain, as well as the tall building topped by a bell steeple. He took a breath, paying close attention to the scent of the air, and said quietly, "But Traverse Town was swallowed into the Darkness."

"It has been recovered." Lexaeus replied, setting off in the direction of the doors to the First District. "It took… great strength, but it was accomplished." Zexion drifted after him, looking around, taking in everything. He had only been to the town once or twice in person, for recon purposes for the Organization, and he had spent a brief moment in one of the memory-illusions of it in Oblivion. It was a nice-looking town, as appealing as Twilight Town, and Zexion realized that this world had fallen into in-between, just as Oblivion and Twilight Town were. He followed Lexaeus into the First District, and walked silently a pace or two behind as the Hero made his way to a small restaurant across the plaza. Lexaeus opened the door, motioning Zexion through ahead of him.

xXx

It was not the people he expected to see. He hadn't believed Lexaeus capable of inflicting such a cruelty as to usher him into a room of people that he hated. But there they were, three of them, sitting around a table in a restaurant in a town that essentially belonged to them. It was Saïx who looked up first, a neutral expression on his face.

"We sent Lexaeus to watch over you, believing that it would be to your preference. As opposed to waking up with one of us looking out for your well-being." Saïx said calmly, like he wasn't a kidnapper. But Zexion's attention had already leapt to the others at the table.

"What's the matter, Zexy? You look like you've seen a ghost!" the blonde girl tittered, exchanging a glance with the third occupant of the table. Zexion stiffened involuntarily as the man stood, sweeping him a mocking half-bow.

"Hello, Zexion. Have you been well?"

Zexion scowled. "Don't waste your false pleasantries on me. What tricks are you up to this time, Marluxia?" He felt Lexaeus's hand, heavy and reassuring on his shoulder, and relaxed somewhat. Lexaeus wouldn't have brought him here if these neophytes intended him harm. But he had not seen Marluxia in person since that first day at Castle Oblivion, where his group had descended to the basement as Marluxia and his followers disappeared upstairs. He was unsure what to expect.

Marluxia stepped around the table, striding across the room and offering the former Number VI a hand. "A truce, Schemer, since you seem to suspect _us_ of scheming something. Listen to what we have to say, then you can decide whether to leave or not."

Zexion's voice carried his mistrust. "And why should I grant you the right to speak, when you are nothing, nothing but a _traitor_ who betrayed the Organization for his own ends? You murdered Vexen! It may have been by Axel's hand, but it was by your word. Axel would not have acted without your order. If there were any of our group who did not deserve a heart, it would be you, who did not desire one in the first place!"

Marluxia laughed. "How woefully uninformed you are, Zexion. I often spoke that hearts were what made people weak. To be shackled by emotions and sentimentality… But there are things that are not possible without a heart. I see now, what good would it have done me to gain control of the Organization, without the heart to enjoy it?" His expression shifted to something bitter, and he continued, "Strange, how you should bring up someone lacking the desire for a heart. All I am asking, Zexion, is that you hear us out. Then, if you wish, you may go. You are not a prisoner here."

Zexion hesitated, but slowly reached out and shook the Assassin's hand. "Speak quickly, Marluxia. I only have so much patience."

"Of course. Please, have a seat." Only once the young man was seated did Marluxia begin his explanation. "The Organization's purpose, as you know, was to complete Kingdom Hearts to reclaim our own lost hearts. This endeavor was started by the original founding six, the apprentices of Ansem the Wise." At Zexion's look of surprise, Marluxia added, "Lexaeus has explained much. In any case, we believe that there was something else. Some deeper thing that the Superior was searching for beyond his heart. The rest of us were merely means to an end. He never cared about hearts at all."

"You can't say…" But Zexion hesitated. Something seemed right about what XI was saying. He remembered being that boy, the youngest apprentice, listening with the rest as Dilan spoke.

"_Perhaps it would be better to attempt this. We have learned that losing one's heart does not end in death. To escape the shackles of emotion, the guilt we feel… It would be productive to our research, if nothing else…"_

They hadn't realized until it was too late how truly _empty_ a lack of emotions made them. Thus the Organization had been born, to recover that which they had lost.

"Xigbar knew." Marluxia cut into his thoughts. "I am convinced that II knew something was going on, and allowed it to happen regardless."

Again, Zexion was assaulted by a memory, of a conversation he had had with Xigbar, just a few days after Marluxia joined the Organization. Other than the fact that Xigbar was overly touchy around everyone, it had been an odd conversation.

_There's a reason, for the move to Castle Oblivion. One that hasn't been told to anyone…_

Maybe Xigbar had been onto something…

_Where there is "sleep", there has to be "awakening". Perhaps that is where the other 'friend' is…_

"This is about the chambers." Zexion murmured. "Isn't it? Are you looking for them now too?"

Saïx shook his head. "I will admit that I attempted to locate the Chamber of Waking. I sent Axel to Castle Oblivion several times for that purpose. But there was no sign of it. But something about them provokes Xemnas's true agenda, and we need to know what that is."

Zexion looked around the table, at three stony faces staring back at him. Larxene had been unusually silent throughout the conversation, staring into her drink. He took a deep breath. "…Why am I here?"

"Because our wonderful _Superior_ likes you." Larxene said, finally breaking her silence. "We need someone he would talk to about what he's doing. Xiggy and Xaldin are with him, and we think they've gone back to the castle." She squeezed the glass tightly. "We have hearts now, and we have our freedom from him and his Order. I'm not letting him start anything else. You have to help us stop him." The look on her face was full of resentment, resentment towards the man who had recruited all of them and not allowed them to leave or turn him down. Marluxia frowned as well, nursing bitter memories of being dragged fighting to the Organization by an overenthusiastic Number II.

Zexion glanced questioningly at Saïx. "I understand why they would wish to stand against Xemnas, but you, Saïx? What do you hope to gain from this?"

"We have our hearts." Saïx said. "That was all I ever wanted. I will not see him do anything to mess things up now. If he intends to go after Kingdom Hearts again, it could have harsh repercussions on all the worlds."

"We didn't stop him as apprentices, when we knew he'd gone too far." Lexaeus said firmly. "We must stop him now."

"Lexaeus…" It wasn't what Zexion had been expecting, as this was as odd a group of companions as he could imagine. But something about what they were saying rang true. Slowly, he nodded. "I will go to Never Was, to see if I can learn what they are planning." he agreed. "Surely the Superior will confide in me. We were close as Somebodies." He seemed to realize the irony of what he had said, and laughed slightly. "I suppose we are Somebodies once again, though completely different from our original selves. Who would have thought it would end up like this?"

Marluxia smiled. "Thank you, Zexion. We have complete faith in you."

"Will I have to worry about the Darkness? After all, I fell unconscious before."

Saïx shook his head. "You were exposed to it so abruptly, the effects were worse than if you had willingly walked into it. You will be fine as long as you do not remain in-between worlds for too long. After all, you made it to Destiny Islands well enough."

"Yes…" He frowned. "I should return there, after this task is done. Demyx will be worried." He stood from the table, exchanging a look with Lexaeus. "I will return when I know something." Striding out of the restaurant, he called up a dark portal in the plaza.

"Zexion." Lexaeus's voice was clear in the silent night despite its low volume. When the young illusionist turned to look at him, he said quietly, "Our powers were not weakened by our hearts. It is a matter of believing that. Be careful."

Zexion nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Lexaeus. I will." He stepped into the portal and was gone.

"Do you think he trusts us?" Marluxia had come out into the plaza as well. "He will do this for us, he says, and I know he trusts you. But if you hadn't been here, we would have been out of luck."

"He has no reason to trust you." Lexaeus growled, not looking at the pink-haired man. "You and Larxene plotted the Organization's overthrow, and Saïx orchestrated a grand scheme that led to his death. You are lucky that there are instances of past happenings to back up your claims." Lexaeus viewed the younger man as something of a sibling. Ienzo had been a child back during the time of their initial research, and Aeleus had befriended him, when everyone else was prepared to dismiss his ideas, not seeing the young one's brilliance. When they lost their hearts and joined the Organization, Lexaeus served as his protector, more than anything. Xemnas might have been their Superior, but Zexion was the only one he trusted.

"Still!" Marluxia said. "This proves that we were right, back in Oblivion. The Superior was not the person we needed leading the Organization." He grinned wolfishly. "I will readily admit, this is revenge as much as anything."

Lexaeus fixed him with a steady gaze. "If harm comes to Zexion, know that it is you I will blame." He turned and walked away, deeper into the town, and Marluxia swallowed thickly. They were no weaker than they had been as Nobodies, and Lexaeus was still the strongest. Not an enemy he wanted to have. He went back inside, suddenly feeling the need for a very stiff drink.

* * *

Truly? My first time trying to write the Organization. So I'm learning them, bit by bit. (and replaying CoM. XD)

Ugh, I have to go back to school tomorrow, which sucks. And I've neglected two papers over Christmas break. And my poor Death Note story, which I _swore_ I'd finish. (sigh) Anyway, next chapter, whenever it's finished, will chase Xion, Kairi, and Namine to Twilight Town. Is there anything there to find? ...I really don't know yet. Hehe...

Li


	14. Virtual Reality

**Virtual Reality**

"First things first: you need new clothes!"

That had been the rallying cry when the three girls arrived in Twilight Town, courtesy of Sora's Highwind. Xion had been unceremoniously dragged to a tailor, followed by several clothing stores in quick succession. Kairi had tried hard to get her to agree to give up the black Organization coat, but Xion was stubborn. As stubborn and hard-headed as Sora.

"It protects against the Darkness!" she objected, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm human now, and I'm not a Princess of Heart or the Princess's former Nobody! You two are safe from the Darkness! If I have to use a portal…" What she didn't tell them was that the cloak was her only connection to a life she might have had before. The Organization was her only memories. They all had memories of their past lives to fall back on. Xion had never been human.

Therefore, the tailor was Kairi's form of compromise. Xion could keep the coat, as long as they could make it into something more stylish and less cult-like. That was how Xion found herself in a small clothing boutique. Kairi had gone to drool over jewelry, and Naminé had become distracted by a display of artistic, eccentric-looking t-shirts, leaving Xion to pick through a rack of clearance items, uncertain. She'd never had to shop for clothes before. She pulled out a white skirt with a pattern of large golden-yellow flowers, blinking at it. Naminé could pull it off. Hell, Sora could wear it. He looked good in white and gold. With hair the color of blue-black ink, it would look strange on her.

"You would look good in purple."

Xion looked over. A brunette girl was standing there, holding up a flowing, plain-white skirt to her own waist. She smiled at Xion, nodding. "With your hair color, darker colors will help your eyes stand out. I'm Olette. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Xion." She was acutely aware of how strange she must look to this girl, wearing the black skintight Organization pants and a black tank top.

Olette smiled warmly. "Come here. I'll help you pick something out." She took Xion's hand and pulled her over to a rack of sundresses. "My friends are off doing their own things today. One's training for the Struggle, and the other's at some kind of convention."

"My friends are here somewhere…" Xion murmured, glancing around for them. She liked Olette. Quite possibly, she'd just made her first real friend outside of their little group. Olette handed her a sleeveless sundress in a deep, royal purple and a pair of black flip-flops decorated with purple and blue beads.

"Try these on!"

Xion obeyed, and headed to the changing room. A dress wasn't much different from their long coats, but it only reached to her knees. She slipped on the flip-flops, folding her other clothes neatly and carrying them and her boots with her. When she stepped out of the changing room, she saw Kairi coming around the corner.

"Xion, you look amazing!" Kairi squealed. Olette looked over, hearing the familiar voice, and squealed in return.

"Kairi! Oh my god, the last time we saw you that redhead was kidnapping you! What happened?"

"Olette!" Kairi embraced the brunette, as Naminé wandered over with a smile on her face and a bag of new clothes in one hand. "It's a long story. I meant to come back, I swear!"

"You have to tell me all about it! I'll treat you all to ice-cream."

xXx

They paid for Xion's new clothes, and went back to the tailor to retrieve Xion's jacket. It now reached only to her waist, with wider elbow-length sleeves. The hood had been converted to a loose collar, and the beads that had formerly hung from the neckline now dangled from the zippers on the front of the jacket and the pockets. She slipped it on over the dress, doing a twirl happily. She'd never felt pretty before, but now…

Olette, true to her word, had taken all of them out for ice-cream. Naminé disappeared for a few minutes, and came back in new denim shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt that had been designed to look artfully splattered in paint. After they were all contentedly munching on the town's famous blue ice-pops, Kairi told Olette a simplified version of the story.

"So Sora's okay! That's good. I'm sure Hayner and Pence will be glad to hear it." Olette said. "And you found Riku too! So why have you come back to Twilight Town?"

"We think some of the Organization might be here, and Sora wanted us to check out the mansion. They'd be there, if they're in this town." Kairi explained.

Olette nodded. "If the black-coated people are in this town, we'll find them. There aren't that many places to hide. I'll go with you to the mansion."

"Thank you." All three were happy that their friend could come along. Naminé, like Xion, had never truly met Olette, but they had become fast friends anyway. They finished their ice-cream and set off for the woods outside of town, slowing their step as the mansion came into view. Naminé hesitated. She had lived here for a while, and the memories of being stuck in the mansion with only DiZ, Riku, and the sleeping Sora for company were not the most pleasant. Xion hesitated too. Being part of Sora and Roxas for so long, she had unhappy remnants of feelings left over from Roxas's last trip to this mansion, when he'd been forced to realize that he truly wasn't going to be allowed to exist for himself.

"DiZ…" she whispered, the faintest amount of venom in her voice. Naminé touched her on the shoulder, smiling in understanding, and they hurried to catch up to Kairi and Olette.

xXx

The front door wasn't locked. It seemed almost too easy to just walk in, but that's what they did. Olette looked around, humming appreciatively. "We never came back here after Sora went inside. The gate and the door were unlocked, but none of us ever really wanted to go in. All those years of wondering, and suddenly it seemed more forbidden than ever even though the doors were open."

Naminé was silent, and then in a very tiny voice, murmured, "Go on ahead. I need to go upstairs." Kairi just looked at her for a second, then nodded, and Naminé smiled gratefully and darted away without a word. They watched her climb the stairs and disappear into one of the upstairs rooms, and then turned to their own hunt. The door to the right seemed promising.

It had once been a library, that much was obvious. The bookshelves still lined the walls, but an enormous rectangular opening was set into the floor, stairs leading down into a basement of some sort. Kairi and Xion went first, creeping carefully down the stairs. Olette hung back, and finally whispered, "I… don't think I should go. I'll wait up here. Do what you have to."

"Olette…" Kairi said quietly, but she understood. These were things that went beyond Twilight Town, and Olette seemed to realize that. Some things, other people were not meant to see. So, hand in hand, Kairi and Xion made their way into the basement. They walked carefully through the dim rooms, lit only by the faint glow of still-working lights, and opened the door to the computer room.

Xion gasped, seeing who was standing at the computer, and the blond man turned to them, and smiled.

"Princess." Vexen said cordially. "Interesting to see you here." Kairi had never met Vexen, but he knew who she was. "I am Vexen, formerly Number IV of the Organization." He glanced from Kairi to Xion, and asked curiously, "And who is your twin?"

Xion stared at him. Her memories of her first few days in the Organization were fuzzy at best. She remembered leaving Oblivion with Saïx, but there was a faint memory of Vexen, smiling at her as he helped her to her feet, talking excitedly to someone she couldn't see. "I'm… I'm Xion." she said, realizing that the scientist who for all intents and purposes could be called her father had never seen her face.

Vexen's eyes widened. "Even you were given…" He studied her intently for a long moment, as if trying to memorize her face. "You were indeed my finest replica, and obviously you gained a will of your own at some point, or Kingdom Hearts would not have seen fit to give you new life. How fascinating… Perhaps what happened with Repliku was not such an anomaly after all." He shook his head, to distract himself before that particular tangent of thought could go any farther. "In any case, Princess, why have you come here?"

Kairi hesitated. "Sora sent us. We're looking for an Organization member named 'Zexion'. He was kidnapped from Destiny Islands by Saïx." As always, a small shiver passed through her when thinking of the blue-haired man.

"And you thought they'd be here?" Vexen queried. "Oblivion or Never Was would be a better choice."

"The others are on their way to check out the castles." Xion said. "We came here. What are you doing here, Vexen? You… aren't with Saïx, are you?"

Vexen chuckled. "No. If I never see that sociopathic neophyte ever again, it will be too soon. I'm glad I haven't run into him." He indicated the computer behind him. "I was looking into what was contained on this computer. I discovered a nearly-complete data replica of Twilight Town, complete with actual, thinking people. It was built by Ansem, the true Ansem. It looks to be based upon the Tron program from the main computer that was in Radiant Garden. That machine over there," he indicated a round platform on the ground, where a second round piece hung overhead, as if to make a cylinder but without walls, "is able to encode a human being into data, to allow them to enter this so-called Data Twilight Town. The person can also be retrieved from the program and reverted to human as well. I'm researching if other worlds can be created in the same manner, programmed to be like the original, but with subtle nuances and differences to suit the creator's purpose. Surely there is a practical application for having a digital world that is accessible to truly live in…"

"If you aren't helping Saïx, then don't worry about us. We don't want to fight you." Kairi said. "We'll head back to the Islands to meet the others, then."

Vexen's smile was surprisingly warm for an ice-elemental. "I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your search, Princess. And Xion…" For a moment, an almost sad look crossed his face. "Enjoy every moment. Replica or Nobody, the opportunity to truly live again is precious. Farewell, and good luck."

"…Thank you, Vexen." Xion murmured. It wasn't what she'd been expecting, but it was wonderful to hear all the same. She waved, as she and Kairi left through the computer room door. Then it was back up the stairs to the library, and out into the foyer where Olette was waiting.

"Did you find anyone?" Olette asked.

"Vexen, one of the Organization. But not the one we're looking for." Kairi replied. "Let's go get Naminé, and then we should probably head home. Sora and the others might be back by now."

xXx

They found Naminé upstairs in the White Room, sitting on the floor next to the table, just looking at the drawings that covered the walls. Xion remembered coming to this room, looking at the drawings and seeing memories that belonged to Sora and not to her. But now that she was her own self, it was no longer so painful to look at the pictures.

Naminé was holding a single brown crayon, snapped in half, resting in her open hand. She looked up at the three girls who stood nearby, and said softly, "Marluxia broke them. All of them. He was angry at Vexen, and suspicious of Axel, and he took out his anger on me. All I had was half-crayons from then on." She glanced at the table, where a half-finished drawing of a person with a mop of silver hair and black over his eyes was sitting. "DiZ let me bring all of my art supplies to the mansion, but I had to leave everything here. Riku took me to Sunset Hill and sent me away with Axel, because DiZ wanted him to eliminate me, and he refused…"

"Axel looked after both of us, then." Xion murmured. "He's a good person."

xXx

All three embraced Olette, Xion thanking her for helping her with clothes. Olette smiled gently, and said, "Be careful on the way back to your world."

Kairi started to deny it, but remembered that Olette was smart. Smarter than her friends; no offense to the boys. So she simply nodded, and said, "Tell Hayner and Pence hello for us. We'll be back. I'll bring Sora and Roxas and Riku, and we can all get together and go to the beach or something."

"That sounds great!" Olette knew that the name 'Roxas' sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. Kairi, Naminé, and Xion waved, and returned to the gummi ship. They hadn't found anything useful, but it eliminated one place that the Organization could be hiding. Maybe the others, on their worlds, had more luck.

* * *

Affectionately nicknamed the 'girl power' chapter. Olette even showed up! Sorry if you wanted Hayner and Pence, Blue-chan, but this chapter was girls (and Vexen) only. XD

So Mar is a crayon-smashing psycho, no-one likes DiZ, and Vexen's playing virtual reality. All is well. Haha. Next chapter we see what Axel and Roxas are up to in Castle Oblivion. Will they find Zexion? ...Probably not. XD

Hugs!  
Li


	15. Shell

**Shell**

The halls of forbidding white were almost blinding. Axel remembered the first time he had come here. The castle in Never Was, at least, was done in shades of white and grey, traced through with thin glowing lines. And Deep Dive City was dark but for the neon lights and the flickering windows of Memory's Skyscraper. But Oblivion was practically glowing in its white, and it had taken days for Axel to adjust to the perpetual brightness. Roxas had only been in Oblivion for a short time, during that one ill-fated trip while they were searching for the Organization imposter. So he had never gotten a really good look at it.

"This place is _maddening_." Roxas said. "Every floor is the same, and it's all so _white_. How did you keep from going insane?"

Axel grinned cattily, slinging an arm around Roxas's shoulders. They were on their way to the observation room on the thirteenth floor. The redhead leaned over to bump his head against Roxas's. "I kept my sanity by focusing on you, Roxas! I passed the blinding white nights longing for the moment that I could see your sweet face again…!" He skipped out of reach as Roxas tried to elbow him, laughing merrily. Roxas flushed red, grumbling and storming off in the direction of the next set of stairs. Axel went after him, resuming his place walking at the blond's side and asking teasingly, "What's the matter, Roxas?"

"Could you be serious for like five minutes? Just five minutes!" Roxas said loudly. "We're supposed to be looking for the Organization, not standing here fli-"

"Did I actually manage to embarrass you when there's no one around?" Axel asked incredulously, interrupting. "Wow, Rox. I was just teasing."

Roxas just fixed him with a flat look before continuing on. Axel grabbed him by the arm, spinning him around to face him. "Seriously, Roxas, what's the matter? You're moodier than usual."

"You don't take anything seriously!" Roxas cried. "You didn't take things seriously when I asked you things, before I left. You didn't take things seriously when I was worried about Xion and my own identity. You didn't even take things seriously when you were dying! You still managed to be a snark! And I had to sit there and watch you _die_!"

"Roxas…" Axel murmured. "I was extremely serious about you and Xion. I put on the cheerful face for you two, so you wouldn't worry." The hand that wasn't holding Roxas's arm came up to rest on his shoulder. "I needed my snarkiness, to get me through. What else did I have, since I couldn't be sad about things? But I always took you seriously, Roxas, even when I couldn't give you the answers you wanted." He hugged the blond boy roughly, reaching up to muss his hair, and smiled when he heard Roxas laugh. "C'mon, Rox. Let's go see what can be seen."

Roxas nodded, Axel's arm a comforting weight on his shoulders as they walked. He was happy that Axel took him seriously. Very, very happy.

xXx

The observation room held a few plush white couches, a small table and chair in one corner, and a large round glass orb in the middle of the room. Roxas walked over, finding a half of a mauve crayon under the chair, and bit his lip. Naminé had been here, in Castle Oblivion, with Marluxia and Larxene. He knew that much.

"They didn't hurt her." Axel said quietly, seeing the crayon. "Never physically, at least. More often it was "emotional" hurt. But even then, it was subtle. Sometimes what Marluxia didn't do, what he only promised, was worse than the things he actually did."

Roxas sighed. "I feel terrible for her. They kept her locked up here…"

"She never left this castle until DiZ came to retrieve her." Axel said. "He took her to Twilight Town, and Riku brought her to me to save her from DiZ. I let her hide in Never Was. There were more than enough empty buildings, after all."

"Hmm…" Roxas wandered over to flip through a bookshelf that was against the wall beside one of the couches. Axel sank onto another couch, pondering that very strange meeting.

xXx

_The sun was always setting in Twilight Town, but that didn't stop it from being beautiful. Axel slouched on one of the benches on the top of the aptly named Sunset Hill. He had lost everything. Roxas was gone, returned to Sora. He couldn't go back to the Organization, or they would punish him for losing Roxas. Probably with destruction. He had no purpose. Nowhere to go._

_He looked up as a figure in a black coat came up the road, and tensed. This was it, then. But then he noticed the slender, waif-like girl at the figure's side, and understood. "Riku."_

_Naminé moved past Riku to sit on another bench, cradling her sketchbook in her lap. Axel sighed, getting up and walking over to lean against the fence blocking visitors from tumbling to their deaths. Riku, or the Organization. His end would come, one way or another._

_"He's gone." Riku said quietly, and Axel didn't need to ask who 'he' was. His best friend had returned to the keybearer, and was out of reach. "Come now," Riku continued. He was speaking to Naminé. "You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" He turned to look at Axel. "And you don't have anywhere to go back to."_

_"What did we ever have in the first place?" Axel asked, turning away from the color-drenched sky to face the Order's imposter. "Such things as 'home' and 'family' do not exist for Nobodies. How does the saying go? 'Home is where the heart is'? Nowhere."_

_"There is no place for me." Naminé whispered. "But there are still places I want to go. People I want to see." She stared down at her sketchbook miserably._

_"Yeah…" Axel agreed softly. "Me too." He knew what he could do, the only thing he could do. But he wanted to see Roxas, just one more time. Glancing at Riku, he asked, almost tauntingly, "So why don't you just let us go? __**He**__ told you to get rid of us, didn't he?"_

_Naminé looked up at Riku, something uncertain in her expression. "…Really?" She pulled the sketchbook up slightly, seeming to shrink behind it. Axel raised an eyebrow. She hadn't known the fate that was waiting for her once her part in DiZ's plan was finished?_

_Riku stared at her in silence for a long moment. "Go."_

_Axel laughed. "You don't think that you should finish us right here?" he asked, grinning._

_Riku shook his head, face obscured and unreadable behind the hood. "I owe you, both of you, for Castle Oblivion. Naminé saved me from Zexion, kept me from dying of the light. And from what I understand, you looked after Sora."_

_Waving a hand in acceptance, Axel called up a dark portal. "Okay, thanks then."_

_"…I'm… sorry." Naminé whispered, getting up and going over to where Axel waited. Riku watched them go, and Axel kept an eye on him until the portal closed safely behind them._

xXx

That was probably the only time Axel had ever thought that Riku might be halfway decent. He obviously cared about Naminé at least a little bit, seeing as he hadn't killed her when ordered to. Or maybe he just saw Kairi in her. Who knew?

Roxas was flipping through Larxene's copy of _Marquis de Sade_, and was making the most amusing face. Axel laughed somewhat, getting up from his seat on the couch and going over to lightly rest his fingertips on the surface of the glass sphere. It lit up, illuminated from within, and Axel cast its gaze over the castle's upper floors. Nothing. He was aware of Roxas coming up to stand at his side, and the blond boy huffed.

"If that's what Larxene read in her free time, I see why she was the way she was." he said, cringing somewhat.

Axel laughed, patting him on the head. "She was a sadist, Rox, and all that book did was encourage her." He rolled his eyes. "Believe me, the rest of us weren't too thrilled with her sadistic tendencies either." He shifted his fingertips on the glass ball's surface, looking through the basement floors one by one. Everything seemed empty; there were no signs of life anywhere. The Heartless that Sora had faced in the castle had been a product of his memory, or were summoned by Marluxia to protect the thirteenth floor. With Marluxia gone, there were no Heartless to be found.

"I don't think there's anything here." Roxas said quietly, sighing in disappointment. Axel was almost inclined to agree with him, when the image in the glass panned over the basement common room, and he spotted a figure lying on one of the couches. He pointed wordlessly, and Roxas leaned forward to try to see better. "Who is that?"

"I dunno." Axel said. "We should probably go check it out." He touched at a small pad at the base of the glass, and a hum filled the room. "That should activate the warp spheres. We can get to the basement much faster that way."

xXx

Axel was correct, and they were able to warp to the deepest basement with no problems. Axel opened the door to the common room, and Roxas walked in first, trying his best to be completely silent. It seemed like he had just been in here, making peace with Riku. Was it really only a day or two?

Axel put a hand on his shoulder, and both walked over to see who the mystery person was. The boy was dressed in a green shirt with khaki pants and no shoes, and appeared to be asleep. Hair like a new moon night, not black but a ridiculously dark silver-grey, hung loose around his face, longer in the back, with soft bangs. Roxas and Axel blinked in surprise, glancing at each other as they studied the stranger. He appeared about Roxas's age, maybe a year older or younger, but neither of them had ever seen him before. He looked oddly familiar, though…

The boy stirred, opening aqua eyes to blink at the two, and sat up abruptly.

"Who are…?" He trailed off, staring at Axel as if in recognition.

"We should be asking you." Axel said. "How the heck did you get here? This place isn't easy to reach."

The boy frowned. "I woke up here, yesterday. I don't know how I got here."

"I'm Roxas." Roxas said, trying to ease the somewhat tense situation. "This is Axel. Do you have a name?"

"I got called a lot of things, but most of them weren't my name." the boy said quietly. "…She called me Rikki. It's the only name I have that's just mine, so I guess it's as good a name as any. It's better than Repliku, at least." He smiled faintly. "I remember Axel. You were wrong, Axel. More power didn't make me my own person."

Axel took a step back, his eyes widening comically with shock. "Oh, merciful Darkness…!"

Roxas looked between Axel and Rikki, completely confused. "What?"

Axel was still staring at the dark-haired boy in disbelief. Hesitantly, he said, "You're… alive?"

Rikki nodded. "Yes… And I don't really feel like _him_ anymore. I don't even look like him. My hair got darker, and I just… feel different."

Roxas was glaring at Axel with a look remarkably identical to the one he had worn as a Nobody. It was a look that said, 'If you don't tell me what's going on right this second, I **will** resort to violence.' Axel, when he noticed the look, promptly held up his hands in surrender against the younger boy. "Rox, don't look at me like that! I was getting ready to explain. So in Castle Oblivion, you know Riku was loose in the basement, right?" He waited for Roxas to nod before continuing. "Well, when he fought Vexen, Vexen took notes and made a Replica of Riku. Kind of like Xion, only this one looked and sounded just like the real Riku. We messed around with his memories, to make him _think_ he was the real Riku too." He looked over at Rikki. "But as I recall, Naminé shattered your heart. Even if she fixed it… How are you here?"

"She fixed my memories." Rikki said. "I didn't have many, so it was the work of a few minutes. I was only partly conscious. I could hear her speaking, but it was as if it was from horribly far away. She said that I needed a name that wasn't Riku, and then she called me Rikki. I think Marluxia took her after that, and he left me there."

"You fought the real Riku after I took you to Zexion, and he beat you." Axel said, musing. "And Kingdom Hearts brought you back because you were like us, and Xion: fighting so hard to be your own person."

Rikki nodded. "That makes sense. All I wanted was to be someone who wasn't Riku."

Roxas smiled, feeling something like kinship with the other boy. All he had wanted was to be able to live his own life, not as Sora. "You should come back with us. You can see Naminé, and Sora. Even Riku, if you want to."

There was a long pause as the former Replica thought it over. "…I suppose that wouldn't hurt. Naminé would be happy to see me. Sora too, probably." He nodded. "Yes, I'll come back with you. Thank you!"

Roxas exchanged a smile with Axel. It wasn't Zexion, but they had found something, at least. Time to head back to Destiny Islands, and see how the others were faring.

* * *

Bet you weren't expecting HIM to show up! But why not? He's like Xion; the only two successful Replicas Vexen made. He deserves a heart too!

I named him Rikki the first time I played CoM, just for myself, before the fandom in general started calling him Repliku. So I decided to use my name here.

Anyway, next time, Sora, Riku, and Demyx storm the Castle that Never Was! Concerning Organization XIII, the Dark Beach, the Dark Margin, and Sora-phobia! XD

Li


	16. Search's End

**Search's End**

Sora remembered how to get to the Dark Beach, and managed to land the gummi ship without any problems. He hurried out onto the black sand, stopping and raising his hands to link behind his head as he waited for the other two. Riku followed, somewhat slower, and Sora said, "Do you remember? We thought we were going to have to stay here forever…"

"It wouldn't have been so bad…" Riku mused. "After all, we would have had a limitless city to explore. But we wouldn't have been around to deal with this catastrophe now. Whatever Saïx is up to, it can't be anything good, because he's likely working for Xemnas."

"But what do they want with Zexion?" Demyx asked, steeling his willpower and managing to not flinch when Sora made eye contact.

"That's what we're here to find out!" Sora declared. "Let's go see if there's anyone in the castle!" He started up the beach in the direction of Deep Dive City, and Riku sighed, rolling his eyes at Sora's indestructible enthusiasm. He and Demyx followed the keyblade bearer up the beach, hoping that they could find Zexion and end whatever threat it was that loomed over their worlds this time.

xXx

It was so familiar, the hallways of twisting grey-and-white, lanced through with glowing threads. As far as Zexion knew, the glowing threads didn't actually serve a purpose besides pure cosmetic value, but he could appreciate that they looked interesting.

He stopped on the stairs of Twilight's View, looking out into the vast emptiness of the enormous room. Most of the room was rounded, almost giving it a sphere shape. There were no other doors, save the ones from the Hall of Empty Melodies and Crooked Ascension, at the top and bottom of the stairs. The room served no real purpose, or perhaps its purpose simply never was realized. Zexion remembered the conversation he had with Xigbar here. The older man had alluded very obviously to something he would only call 'Xemnas's secret'. It had something to do with the chambers, Repose and Waking, but that was all they really knew. But Xigbar had always seemed to know more than the others…

Ienzo hadn't liked Braig, not at all. The older man was suspicious, and it always seemed like there was something else about him, something just the slightest bit… off.

He walked into the Hall of Empty Melodies, darting underneath the balcony when he smelled gunpowder and clear air, indicating Xaldin and Xigbar were nearby. He held his breath, listening closely. He heard Xaldin's voice, saying in an almost grouchy tone, "He says that we are almost ready, but we have yet to make a move. What is he waiting for?"

"With such a clever plan, we need to make sure everything is in place!" Xigbar's cheery voice replied. "Can't have the keybearer or his friends storming in on us! If Xemnas is going to gain absolute power over Kingdom Hearts, we don't need those brats interfering."

Zexion's eyes widened. Was Xemnas going after the real Kingdom Hearts this time? Zexion wasn't sure if that was possible, but if Xemnas would try… Nothing good could come of it.

"But isn't it necessary to have the keybearer present to…"

Zexion stepped backwards, farther under the balcony, hoping to wait until they left to get out. But he stumbled, and the footstep echoed through the empty room. Xaldin's voice stopped, and Zexion held his breath again, hoping that they wouldn't realize he was there.

Unfortunately, he had no such luck.

A hand materialized out of a portal, seizing Zexion's wrist in an iron grip and yanking him through. He found himself face to face with a grinning Xigbar and a faintly amused Xaldin, refusing to struggle on principle.

"Well, now!" Xigbar said cheerfully. "It seems we've caught ourselves an eavesdropper! Didn't you once tell me that that was a bad habit, Zex? What are you doing here, anyway? You're not spying or anything, are you?"

Zexion thought, and used the only real weapon he had available to him. Words. He had been the favored child, the one who could talk himself out of, and anyone else into, anything.

"What, Xigbar? Am I not allowed to walk around the castle I called home? What could I possibly have been spying on?"

Xigbar raised an eyebrow. "Don't play dumb, little dude. You haven't been here the whole time. Why else would you come back here?" Conspiratorially, he leaned forward and asked, "You haven't seen any of the others, have you, Zex?"

"I haven't seen anyone." Zexion said firmly. "I'm returning to Radiant Garden. I've been in the old castle, in the library. No one lives anywhere near it, now."

"I think it would be best if you spoke to the Superior." Xaldin spoke, smiling in that way that was anything but kind.

Zexion forced a disinterested expression on his face. "I want nothing to do with him. I have my heart. I want nothing else." He turned to leave, and Xigbar again caught his arm. "_Braig_, let go of me. I have nothing to do with this."

Xigbar released him as if burned. "Geeze, Zex. Fine. But if we see you again, we're gonna be forced to assume something's up."

Zexion ignored him, more focused on getting out of the castle unharmed at this point. So Xigbar and Xaldin were on Xemnas's side. That wasn't a good thing. Both were extremely skilled and powerful. He created a portal, stepping through to reappear on the lower floor of the room. To create a portal here to Traverse Town was practically asking one or both of them to follow him, especially since Xigbar could interfere with the portals through his element. Better to get out of the castle first. He started for the doors, only to be stopped by a joyous voice.

"_Zexion!_" Demyx dashed into the room, obviously thrilled to see him. Zexion supposed it was natural, considering that he had technically been kidnapped. It was the other two who followed the musician who caused him to freeze. Sora and Riku, keyblade masters and saviors of the universe. Zexion didn't have to look behind him to see the cruel smirk on Xigbar's face, or Xaldin's. He could hear it in the words they spoke.

"So, Zex… Haven't seen anyone else, huh?" Xigbar said smugly.

"The Superior will be very interested to know that you have sided with the keybearers." Xaldin added.

Zexion didn't look at them, instead staring right at Demyx, Sora, and Riku. He said quickly, in a low voice, "We need to leave, now. Don't use portals. Just run. Don't stop for anything."

And run they did, fleeing the Hall and racing back down the castle. It didn't take much to realize that the situation was bad. Sora remembered Xaldin and Xigbar. Both were brutal fighters on their own, but together… And if Xemnas showed up, even with both him and Riku, they didn't stand a chance.

Zexion focused as he ran, trying to figure out where II and III were, and realized that they had gone to get Xemnas. They didn't think that the little group could get out of the castle. And as they approached Nothing's Call, Zexion realized they were right.

"Faster!" he cried, shoving Demyx and Sora, who were in front. As they hurried for the ramp, the musician and the Hero of Light made it on, but the ramp began to dissolve behind them, forcing Zexion and Riku to stop. The castle obeyed its masters, and at that moment its masters were still Organization XIII. But higher ranks had more control over the castle, and with both II and III keeping the way shut, even VI and IX together couldn't stand against it.

"Riku!"

"Zexion!"

Both keybearer and musician were equally distressed, and Riku glanced at Zexion before yelling to Sora, "We'll be fine! Get to the ship and get back to the islands! We'll meet you there!"

"Riku, you're doing stuff alone again!" Sora protested, and Zexion rolled his eyes. There wasn't time for this. They needed to leave, now, or all of them would be caught. He summoned his Lexicon, calling a storm of pages to force the two in the direction of the city.

"Go, you fools!" And finally, finally, Sora listened. He grabbed Demyx's sleeve, ignoring the water mage's yelp, and dashed into the city, away from the castle as fast as he could. Zexion sighed with relief, and looked around, taking in his and Riku's situation. They would have to try a portal. It was the only way.

He reached for the hem of his t-shirt, tearing off a long strip of cloth and forcing it into Riku's hands. "Put this on."

"What?"

"Put it on. The only way out is a portal, and I don't think you want to risk being consumed by the darkness again." Zexion snapped, and Riku's eyes widened before vanishing as he tied the makeshift blindfold around his head. Zexion reached for his hand, opening a portal at the same time and pulling Riku after him. "Don't stop moving. We have to put many portals between us and Xigbar, or he'll be able to catch us."

Riku was past being able to answer, eyes squeezed shut in pain behind the blindfold as the Darkness ripped at him like a living thing. He didn't _like _this; he hated the Darkness and above all else he hated having to rely on Zexion to keep him safe. But he had lost his sight when he had given up the Darkness for good, and now in a blindfold, he was truly blind. What if this was a trap? How did they know that they could trust Demyx? How did they know that this wasn't just an elaborate scheme to separate him and Sora, to make them easier to defeat alone? In the end, it was a matter of perspective. Riku knew he could take Zexion in a fight. Xaldin and Xigbar… he wasn't so sure. Besides, if he left Zexion here, as they darted from one portal to the next, who knew _where_ he'd end up?

xXx

The rush eventually subsided, and Riku stumbled into Zexion as the other finally stopped. He groped for the blindfold, lifting it from his eyes and squinting. The world they were in was dark, lit by soft post-lamps. Riku stared around in bewilderment.

"Why are we in Traverse Town…?"

"There are people I need to speak to, then I will take you back to your island." Zexion said shortly, heading for the Second District and the hotel that waited there. He could sense Marluxia and Saïx, at the very least, and knew that they were waiting for him. And, did he have interesting news for them…

* * *

...Zexion usurped Sora, Riku, and Demyx's chapter. Oops.

...It's been two... maybe three... weeks, and I sincerely apologize. This chapter did not turn out how I wanted it, and trying to write during exam week is probably not the best idea ever. But it's not going to get better at this point, so here it is. Life has been eating my life. If that makes sense. (Not to mention Birth by Sleep came out and killed my whole thing for how I was going to write the ending. O.o)

Next chapter, Demyx overcomes his Sora-phobia, and Zexion takes Riku to meet some people that Riku really wishes had stayed dead. Poor boy. XD

It will not be so long between chapters this time, I swear!  
Li


	17. Omake: A Loose End on Earth

**Omake: A Loose End on Earth**

Doctor Greg Dunos had seen better days. In one day, he had gotten in more trouble than he had possibly ever been in over the course of his entire life. He had _lost_ a patient. The young woman that the files labeled as 'Relena', last name unknown, had vanished into nothing, with no clues left behind save a quickly dissipating wisp of darkness. After a very stiff cup of coffee, taken straight black to shock his system into waking up, he had returned to Relena's room, actually venturing in to look around. There had been nothing but a very faint scent of roses.

That was why Doctor Dunos was currently sitting in a bar, a glass of beer in front of him, depressed. His supervisors had been… well, 'upset' wasn't a good word. Neither was 'furious'. What was above furious? Apocalyptic, maybe? He was on probation, and had taken a significant pay cut. He hadn't mentioned the darkness to the supervisor. He didn't want to sound crazy too.

"You look down. What hand has fate dealt you to sit with such a melancholy expression?"

Doctor Dunos looked up to see a blond man with a neatly trimmed beard sit down next to him. He had the faintest hint of a British accent. Not really surprising. Las Vegas attracted all kinds, after all. He sighed, saying dully, "I had the worst day…"

The blond man raised an eyebrow. "Do tell. I am Rould, by the way."

"Greg Dunos." Doctor Dunos shook the man's hand. "I work at the mental hospital, near the city limits. Do you know the one?"

"I am familiar with it." Rould replied.

Doctor Dunos shook his head. "I lost track of a patient today. She just… vanished. I took a huge pay cut, and I really don't know how to explain to my wife…"

"Ah. A cruel trick of the dice." Rould sighed. "It will be best to tell your wife as soon as possible, you know, or else she will be most upset at you playing such an important thing so close to the vest."

"You're right, of course." Doctor Dunos fumbled for his wallet, and Rould put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I will pay for your drink. Consider it a small favor to improve the odds of your day getting better."

Doctor Dunos nodded gratefully. "Thank you." He hurried out of the bar to catch a bus home, and Rould laid a ten-dollar bill on the counter. Really, the silly little games they played in these casinos… too easy. He had several million 'dollars', this world's equivalent of munny, already. Perhaps he would try that odd, pyramid shaped casino next. The Luxor, he believed it was called. With a grin, he left the bar. It was just… calling his name.

xXx

Doctor Dunos arrived home, calling, "I'm home!" when he opened the front door. There was no response save a muffled 'Hi, Dad!' from the direction of the living room. He hung up his coat, going to see what was happening, and found his teenage daughter Kel playing Playstation.

"Mom and Conner went shopping." she said, never taking her eyes from the screen. She appeared to be fighting a complicated battle involving what looked like a deck of cards. Doctor Dunos sat down on the couch to watch.

"What are you playing?"

"Re: Chain of Memories. The Kingdom Hearts game that they released in Japan with Final Mix? They finally released it in English!" Kel ignored the blank look she got in favor of dealing the finishing blow to the teenage boy she was fighting. But her father's attention was captured as the cutscene began.

"_She broke his heart. More like shattered it, really!_"

He could barely get the words out. "Who… is that?"

"Who, Larxene? She's one of Organization XIII. She's Number XII. They rule Castle Oblivion, and they're trying to bend Sora to their nefarious plans." Kel said, watching the cutscene and providing exposition at the same time. "I hate this boss fight…"

Doctor Dunos was completely dumbfounded. He ended up watching as Kel moved on to the next floor of the castle, simply called Castle Oblivion. When another cutscene began, of a redhead and a man with pink hair confronting each other, he whispered, "Marx…?"

"Marluxia. He's lord of the castle." Kel corrected. "But they say it funny, like MarLOOOsha. It's weird. He's got a good voice, but Axel's voice still wins."

"Axel…" He could just hear Relena muttering death threats against her 'Axel'. Was it all a coincidence? Did Relena build herself a reality around this game? Or, he thought, remembering the darkness, like the portal one of Kel's game characters had just used, maybe it had been real…

He needed a margarita and a nap, stat. This was going to drive him mad.

"Mom should be back soon." Kel called as he started up the stairs.

"That's fine. I'm going to take a nap." He needed to sleep off the impending feeling of crazy. Game characters couldn't appear in real life. That was just stupid.

* * *

Just for fun, while I work on the next chapter. I do not own a playstation or live in Las Vegas, and my dad doesn't work for a mental hospital, but that's totally meant to be my family, there. XD They do say Mar's name funny, and for the record, Zexion's voice wins the most.

Also marking the appearance of the only Organization member who is apparently happy and content. He didn't fit into my main story, but I wanted to show that he's doing okay. For Chaser, who asked if he was working with Xemnas. ^.^

Poor Dad. Haha. I'll get the real chapter finished soon, I promise.  
Li


	18. Coming to Terms

**Coming to Terms**

It was quiet in the gummi ship.

Neither occupant, though they were usually bright and eager to talk, really felt like speaking to each other. Sora and Demyx didn't have the best memories of each other, and with each of them facing the reality of someone they cared about being in trouble, conversation was last on their to-do lists.

Demyx only noticed that he was subconsciously edging away from the keyblade master when he was three-quarters of the way to the back room. He briefly debated in a panic: move back and risk Sora noticing, or stay here and pretend he hadn't moved at all? He had just come to the decision to very slowly creep back to the front of the gummi ship when Sora turned around.

"Are you scared of me?"

The question almost seemed pointless, as Demyx yelped and scrambled another few inches back. The former Nobody stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously. "N-no, why would you think that? I was in Organization XIII; I'm not afraid of anything!"

"You just…" Sora stopped, blinked, and then said, "You were running from Hades the first time I saw you!"

"T-that was just a precaution! S-so he didn't see me!" Demyx protested, stammering a bit, the lie obvious in his voice. "Besides, he's a god in Olympus, you're just a kid!"

"Keyblade Master." Sora summoned the keyblade and held it up, and Demyx yelped again, holding his hands up to defend himself, despite the fact that it could no longer truly harm him. It could hurt if Sora decided to hit him with it, but it was no longer a threat to his very being. An index card fell out of the pocket of the blue hoodie he was wearing, sliding across the floor. Demyx dove for it, but Sora picked it up first. "A notecard?"

"Give that back!" Demyx wailed.

Sora ignored him, banishing the keyblade in favor of reading the small card. "'_Go to the Castle Gates and stall the keybearer for as long as you can, using whatever means necessary._' You kept this?" Sora frowned. "Why? Those orders they gave you, they got you killed."

"_You_ got me killed!" Demyx snapped, surprising himself with his own boldness. "You're the one who had to taunt and pick and provoke until I finally attacked you. I didn't want to fight!"

Sora stared at him, the notecard still held loosely between his fingers. It was too close to the illusion that Zexion had showed him to not freak him out just a little bit. The Demyx standing before him wasn't wounded and bleeding black, but the effect was almost the same.

"I had nightmares…" Demyx said, looking away. "For almost a month, before they finally stopped. Just disconnected flashes, fighting my best, crystal blue eyes filled with nothing but anger, the anger that I couldn't feel. And then the eyes would step away, and it would seem like a good thing until I would realize that the reason they stepped away was because I couldn't fight anymore. The water and the Darkness would come, and I would drown." The musician glanced back up to meet Sora's gaze. "They were always your eyes. Maybe Roxas's. Who can tell?"

Sora held out the notecard silently. Demyx reached out to take it and put it back in his hoodie pocket. The keyblade master stared at the floor for a long moment, then said quietly, "I'm sorry." Looking up to find Demyx blinking at him in dumbfounded shock, he added, "The first time I went to Never Was, with Axel, Zexion showed me a… a vision, thing, of all of you. He showed me that you really weren't the bad guys… And I'm sorry. I didn't know…"

Demyx sat down, sliding down the wall until he was on the floor. "I guess I can forgive you… I mean, it's Xemnas's fault, if you really think about it. Why'd he send me to fight you if he wanted your help collecting Heartless? Since we lost Roxas…"

Sora stuck out a hand. "Friends, then? Now that we know for sure we aren't enemies?" He grinned broadly, and Demyx smiled in return somewhat, reaching up to shake the teen's hand.

"Friends." he agreed. "Won't Zexy be proud of me overcoming my fear? Ha…!"

"As long as he and Riku haven't massacred each other." Sora sighed. "Riku told me about Zexion, briefly, after we came back. He had nothing good to say."

"Zexy's sort of scared of Riku, too. The Replica killed him. Soooo…" Demyx trailed off. "I hope they're okay!"

"They'll be all right." Sora said optimistically. "They're probably friends by now too!"

xXx

"Why won't you tell me what we're doing here?" Riku demanded, following behind Zexion as the other walked soundlessly through Traverse Town's streets. The former Schemer ignored him, pausing to breathe deeply. Saïx and Marluxia were at the hotel, but he couldn't pinpoint Lexaeus or Larxene. With a soft mental call, two of his Fallen Nobodies were at his side. Noting with amusement how Riku shied back from them slightly, he gave them his full attention.

**Orders, Schemer?**

Zexion smiled. "Find Lexaeus and Larxene, and tell them that I am waiting for them at the hotel." When the Fallen made as if to sail off on their quest, he added, "Do be careful around Larxene. She dislikes being surprised."

**Yes, Lord Zexion!**

"You can talk to them? Like, they respond?" Riku asked as they soared away. Zexion turned to flash him an almost condescending look.

"Yes, Riku. Communication amongst Nobodies, especially the higher ones, has never been a problem. Just because you and Sora never saw them as anything more than monsters doesn't mean they are deaf and dumb."

"We didn't think you were…"

"Not at first. Not when you didn't know what we were." Zexion said quietly. "But after Oblivion, after spending time with DiZ, you saw us as nothing. You allowed him to trap Roxas, robbing him of the only family he ever had. All you saw Roxas as was a puzzle piece missing from Sora's completed picture."

"I…" Riku wasn't sure what to say.

Zexion smirked. "Do not bother. It's behind us now, anyway." He continued walking, shouldering open the door to the Second District, but stopped again at Riku's voice behind him.

"Wait a minute… Lexaeus? The guy with the tomahawk?!"

Zexion actually smiled at that. "Yes, Riku. 'The guy with the tomahawk'." He walked away into the Second District, leaving a completely unnerved Riku to follow at his heels.

xXx

Some time later, Zexion sat at a table across from his unlikely allies, having explained what he overheard at Never Was. Marluxia and Saïx, despite their mutual dislike of each other, were already discussing things in low voices. Larxene was sitting nearby, ready to offer an opinion or a snide comment. And Lexaeus put a heavy hand on Zexion's shoulder, saying in a quiet, rumbling voice, "You need to go speak to him."

Riku had taken a single step into the room, recognized both Lexaeus and Saïx, remembered Marluxia's name when he was introduced, and flinched when Larxene smiled wickedly at him. He had promptly turned and left, saying sharply that he would be in town whenever Zexion was done.

"He still isn't comfortable with us, Lexaeus." Zexion pointed out. But he knew, at some point, he had to go retrieve the teen to return him to Destiny Islands. He stood up, turning to briefly grasp Lexaeus's hand.

"Be careful." the larger man told him, concern in his eyes.

Zexion nodded. "As I told Xigbar, I want no part of this. Demyx and I should be fine. You are the one who needs to be careful, if you intend to go after Xemnas." He squeezed Lexaeus's hand. "I will go after Riku, and return to the Destiny Islands. Be careful."

Lexaeus nodded, and Zexion stepped back out into the soft-lit night of Traverse Town. He looked around for a long moment, taking a deep breath, and then glanced at the Gizmo Shop. A tiny figure was visible, seated on the roof, a flash of yellow and blue marking it as the moody teenager he was looking for. Zexion smiled to himself, and summoned an illusion. He knew why Riku had chosen to sit where he had, and intended to show him his choice was pointless.

Riku wasn't sure why he had come up here. Possibly because from this roof, he could see anyone coming. No one from the Organization could sneak up on him, since he could tell if a portal opened behind him. He didn't like this. He flat-out didn't trust Saïx, Lexaeus had once tried to kill him, and he remembered Zexion mentioning sometime during their meeting in Castle Oblivion that Marluxia was the Lord of the castle, therefore the mastermind behind Sora's memory being a scrambled mess. Larxene he didn't know, but she gave off a dangerous aura that he didn't like.

He was worried about Sora, and worried about what was happening in their worlds. It seemed like every time they stopped a threat, a month or two would go by, and something new would pop up. It was depressing.

Apparently he had underestimated Zexion's abilities of concealment, because the former Number VI stepped out of nowhere behind him and sat down, letting his own feet dangle over the side of the roof as well. Riku realized with a dull sense of surprise that he didn't really feel uncomfortable around Zexion anymore. To torment someone like the mind-mage had tormented him, you had to know them, inside and out. Strengths and weaknesses. Hopes and fears. The way that Riku figured it, Zexion knew him better than anyone else.

"The keybearer will be fine." Zexion said, out of nowhere. When Riku glanced at him curiously, he laughed softly. "You are easy to read, Riku. Your concern for Sora stands far above anything else."

Riku frowned. "How can you be sure?"

"It's Sora." Zexion smiled faintly. "When have you ever known him to not make it through something? I, personally, am more concerned about Demyx." He pushed his bangs absently behind his ear, allowing his right eye to see clearly over the plaza below them. "Are you ready to go back to the islands?"

Riku hesitated a moment, then nodded. He climbed to his feet, watching as Zexion opened a dark corridor, and pulled the ragged scrap of cloth from his pocket to tie around his eyes again. Once it was in place, he held out his hand, and heard Zexion laugh softly before reaching out and tugging him into the portal.

xXx

"Look who's here!" a familiar voice chimed, and Riku recoiled as he was smacked on the shoulder. "Good job, Riku, you found him." He reached up and tugged the blindfold off, seeing Axel hovering by his shoulder, obviously the source of the assault. He glanced at Kairi, Naminé, and Xion, who were all staring at him worriedly, and he waved the blindfold absently.

"Zexion said it would help me with the Darkness. I'm fine. Jeeze…"

Naminé smiled gently, then walked over to look up at Zexion. He stared at the "memory-witch" for a long moment before smiling. "Hello, Naminé. You are well?"

"Yes." Zexion had been one of the few Organization members she had been on good terms with. He took a few minutes to speak to her every once in a while, and was never harsh or cruel, as Marluxia and Larxene sometimes were. Frowning, she asked the older young man, "Where are Sora and Demyx?"

"Probably on the gummi ship, on the way back." Zexion sighed, glancing at Riku.

"We ran into… complications in Never Was." the teenager added. He paused, suddenly, noticing something odd. The smell was familiar, but off. Something was weird. "Do you… smell that?" The question was directed at Zexion, the only other person present who could detect the scent of Darkness.

"Yes. I can't place it…"

Riku looked from person to person, confused, when his eyes fell on an unfamiliar figure hovering behind Axel and Naminé. Dark hair and sea green eyes… He let out a very undignified yelp, taking a quick couple of steps backwards. It seemed that Zexion had recognized the scent at the same moment, and let out a ridiculously high-pitched shriek. The real Riku, he could handle. The one who had killed him, however… that was another story.

Rikki grinned at their reactions. "Hi, Real Thing. Hi, Zexion. Remember me?"

Zexion and Riku, in a moment of complete unity, turned identical glares on Axel. "Explain. NOW."

And Axel, fearing for his continued existence, obeyed.

* * *

It's snowing, snowing, snowing! Hahaha!! It hasn't snowed this much where I live in YEARS! We've only been to school one day this week! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Everybody's good now, I think. Demyx and Sora are on friendly terms, Zexion and Riku aren't going to kill each other... All is well. (I couldn't resist that ending, though. ^.^)

Next chapter: Did you really think they could just go home to the islands and be fine? Of course not! XD

I hope all of you guys have weather as lovely as mine!  
Li


	19. Ante Up

**Ante Up**

After Axel had explained everything, Zexion and Riku were somewhat better prepared to accept Rikki's presence, though Zexion still stayed as far away from the boy as possible. Some things… Like the fact that Rikki's scent still wasn't right. It was identical to the real Riku's, but with an underlying layer of _something_ that still unnerved the former Schemer.

Now they were just waiting for Sora and Demyx to arrive. Even with the extra time spent in Traverse Town, portals were still faster than gummi ships, especially since Never Was was almost as far away from the Destiny Islands as physically possible.

Sora's mother came out to where they were sitting in the front yard waiting, settling next to Xion. Expressing interest in the newcomer, she welcomed Zexion the same as she had welcomed anyone else. Zexion had been initially surprised at how willing she was to accept strangers' presences, but after some thought, it seemed only natural. After all, Sora had to have gotten his blatant cheerfulness and willingness to make friends from somewhere.

"So what happened? Why aren't Sora and Demyx back yet?" Mrs. Hikari questioned, worried for her son.

"We ran into trouble in Never Was." Riku grumbled. "Xigbar and Xaldin. We were separated, and Sora and Demyx made it to the ship. We didn't, and had to take a portal. The ship just needs time to get here."

"What do they want, though?" Naminé asked quietly. "They have their hearts. What is there to be gained?"

"Kingdom Hearts." Zexion replied. "From what I overheard, Xemnas intends to pursue the true Kingdom Hearts, the one behind the Door to Darkness. For what purpose, I do not know."

"He thinks… He thinks it will give him ultimate power." Roxas said, and the group stared at him. "He's trying to fix things, and it's not going to work, it won't make things right again…"

"Roxas, you're wonderful, but sometimes I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Axel said. "Now is one of those times. Care to elaborate?"

Roxas blinked at him helplessly. "I don't know, Axel. Ever since Castle Oblivion, I've been remembering things. Things that never happened to me. "

"That castle has strange properties." Zexion said. "The Organization did not build it; it was already there. And not all of its effects were a result of Naminé's powers. The castle causes some strange things on its own. Perhaps it has affected Roxas more strongly than the rest of us."

"Maybe releasing his memories caused him to be more open to whatever the castle is attempting to convey." Naminé theorized. "Do you remember anything specific, Roxas?"

The blond boy shook his head. "It's… blurry. Like I should know, but I don't." He frowned. "Why is this so much more complicated than it should be?"

Shouts alerted the little group to the arrival of Sora and Demyx. Riku and Zexion never would have admitted it out loud, but they were both secretly relieved that both keybearer and musician had made it back in one piece. Mrs. Hikari embraced her son, and asked worriedly, "Are you both okay?"

Sora glanced at Demyx and grinned. "Yeah, we're fine. Everything's cool now." He high-fived the sitar player, and the rest of the little group gaped at them in astonishment. They had left Destiny Islands barely able to speak to each other, at least on Demyx's part, and now they seemed to be good friends. What had happened on the way back from Never Was?

Sora then turned to Zexion, asking with a frown, "So, Zexion, why were you back in Never Was? With Xigbar and Xaldin, I mean. Do you know what they're planning?"

Zexion sighed. "Xigbar and Xaldin have sided with Xemnas in a plan that seems to be an attempt to seize control of the real Kingdom Hearts. If I had to venture a guess, I would suspect that they are heading for the Door to Darkness. I do not know how he intends to take control, but the best option is to not allow them the opportunity at all."

"Zexion's been working with some of the others in Traverse Town." Riku said. "Lexaeus, Saïx, Marluxia, and Larxene were there. They seem to be willing to stand against Xemnas."

"We have our hearts." Zexion said. "And we will not sully the gift that the Kingdom gave us by letting our former Superior place it under siege."

"That's good to know!"

All of them whirled to look in the direction of the familiar voice. Xigbar was perched atop a palm tree not too far away, and had obviously been listening to every word spoken. Many of them turned a few shades paler as they realized exactly what that meant. The Freeshooter smirked, standing up and balancing on the tree easily. "So, Zexion… You've turned into quite the liar in your new-living state! At least you've been kind enough to tell where the other potential threats are."

"You spy!" Sora shouted indignantly.

Xigbar smiled wryly. "Ouch. That's harsh, kid. I'd listen up if I were you, because I'm only gonna say this once. I'll leave you and your band of merry men for now, but if you move against us… Well, we know where you live." The threat was clear, that the Islands would be in danger if Xigbar returned with backup. The Freeshooter flashed them all a mocking grin before vanishing through a dark portal.

"We have to help the others!" Sora said, as soon as Xigbar was gone. "We gave away their position, so we need to go help them."

"Xigbar and Xaldin are really strong." Demyx added. "That's why they were such high numbers. I don't think Marluxia, Larxene, and Saïx can take both of them, even with Lexaeus's help."

"But if we go, Xigbar will…" Roxas glanced at Sora's… his… _their_ mother, frowning. "We can't do that to the Islands either. At least some of us should stay here."

"I will stay." Naminé said quietly. Rikki stepped up beside her silently, nodding in agreement. "We can stand against whatever they might try here."

"Naminé…" Sora said, worried for the frail-looking girl. "Are you sure?"

Naminé smiled softly. "Sora, your heart is connected to so many people… My powers were to affect the memories of you and those closest to you. Your soul is bound with those of the Organization now, and I can manipulate them just as easily. With my knight to protect me, I could shatter them."

Sora's eyes widened, and he seemed shocked into silence. Riku walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's perfect, Naminé. We'll trust you and… uh… Rikki to keep the islands safe." He glanced at Rikki, and after a second's hesitation, offered his hand. "I… I do trust you. I don't think you were ever a bad person."

"Thanks, Real Thing." Rikki said, smiling and taking the hand that was offered. "We'll look after the islands. Take care of the Organization!"

Riku nodded, and turned back to the rest of the group. He glanced at Sora, saying quickly, "A portal would be faster, but the gummi ships would be safer. What do you want to do?"

"It's not that far to Traverse Town." Sora replied. "If we leave now, we'll get there in time." He turned to his friends, and motioned them to come. "Come on! We have to help the others." He hurried to his mother, giving her a quick hug and saying cheekily, "Bye, Mom. We have to go save the universe now."

"Be careful, Sora." Mrs. Hikari said, looking worried. Sora nodded.

"We'll be fine, Mom. I've got my friends to help me. Everything will be all right." He waved one last time, and the group set out for the gummi ship. Mrs. Hikari watched them go, standing with Naminé and Rikki, who weren't worried at all. They had great faith in Sora. If anyone could stop Xemnas from taking Kingdom Hearts as his own, the keybearer could.

xXx

When they reached Traverse Town, there was definite evidence of a fight. Debris lay everywhere, and several buildings looked as though they had been decimated by a tornado. Zexion looked around quickly, trying to catch any sort of familiar scent, and pointed wordlessly at the door to the third district. Riku and Roxas hurried to throw open the doors, and everyone stared in horror at the massive pile of rubble in the center of the small district. The generator had been ripped from the ground, the small house where Leon and his friends had stayed was gone entirely, and many of the balconies on the surrounding buildings had been ripped from the walls.

It was Axel who spotted the tell-tale flash of blue amidst crumbled stone and splintered wood. He hurried to shove aside a fallen beam and found Saïx, half-buried in the pile, eyes closed and breathing shallow. Zexion moved next, going to a different spot and simply beginning to dig. Demyx went to help, and together they were able to reveal Lexaeus.

"What happened?" Zexion demanded, his hand dwarfed by Lexaeus's larger one as he gripped it.

Axel repeated the question to Saïx, who opened his eyes blearily and said, "Lea?"

"Yeah, Isa, it's me. C'mon, what happened?"

"Xaldin." Saïx said. "He's fast… faster than Lexaeus and I. And in this small space, the ability to ride the winds is invaluable." He looked around, seemingly surprised to see buildings that were still standing. "I thought he'd brought down the whole district on our heads."

"The earth is solid in this place. He could not have blown down the foundations." Lexaeus murmured.

"We were worried." Roxas said. "Riku and Zexion came back and told us about meeting you, and Xigbar overheard…"

Saïx sat up, brushing dust from his long blue hair. Golden eyes locked with those of the Keyblade Master for a long moment, and then the berserker nodded to both him and Kairi. "Keybearer. Princess. It is good to know you both are well."

Sora knelt to be on his eye-level. "Riku said Marluxia and Larxene are here too. Are they all right? Did they get away?" He shifted one hand, calling surreptitiously on Cure to heal both former Organization members' wounds.

"They were at the Hotel." Lexaeus said. "I do not know if Xigbar was here as well, but they are no match for Xigbar or Xaldin, not even with two against one."

"Then we need to find them." Kairi said unhesitatingly. To everyone's surprise, she knelt to begin clearing debris from Saïx's legs so that he could stand. Zexion and Demyx, with Axel's help, were able to free Lexaeus. Thankfully the damage was better that it looked for both the earth-shaker and the Diviner. Neither were seriously wounded, and once Cure spells were administered, they raced in the direction of the hotel, to see if the lowest ranked of their former Neophytes were still alive. All they could do… was hope.

* * *

Words cannot begin to describe how sorry I am this took so long. Writers block sucks.

I literally have to leave the house NOW, so I can't write much here. Enjoy the chapter!

Li


	20. The Edge of the Universe

**The Edge of the Universe**

The Hotel wasn't in as bad a shape as the Third District, but there was evidence of a furious battle. Electricity burns stained the walls, pockmarked by tell-tale bullet holes, and slashes that could only have been caused by the wide energy blades that Marluxia's scythe could summon. Sora led the way, picking through scattered debris that lined the hallway. There was a faint voice that could be heard up ahead, and Zexion murmured, "It smells… like Larxene."

"Larxene? Then she and Marluxia must be all right." Riku said, but Kairi shook her head.

"Not necessarily."

The little group moved down the hallway, coming to the last room. When they opened the door, they discovered what had become of Larxene and Marluxia. The latter was sprawled on the floor, bleeding from numerous wounds. The former was gripping his sleeve with one hand, holding fabric to one of the deeper wounds with the other.

"Damn it, Marluxia, I am not letting you fucking die!" Larxene raged, not noticing the people in the doorway. "You're the only one who ever understood. For fuck's sake, you were the Lord of Oblivion. You transformed twice to fight the Key-brat! You're not going to let fucking _Xigbar_ beat you!"

Sora's eyes widened, and he and Roxas moved immediately, calling on their magic to invoke Cure once again. They were very obviously bullet wounds once you got close enough to really see, and both boys poured more power into the spells, until the bleeding stopped and the holes began to close.

Marluxia coughed, sitting up only to double over, pressing one hand to his mouth. When he pulled it away, his palm was speckled red. "Is Xigbar gone?" he wheezed, unable to even throw up even a façade of his normal princely air.

"He's gone." Sora said. "He beat you up pretty bad."

"We were caught by surprise." Marluxia snapped, hating having to show this horrid _weakness_ in front of the boy who had already killed him once. "Xigbar has a nasty streak for holding grudges."

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

The pink-haired man scowled. "Xigbar is the one who originally recruited me to the Organization. I think he takes my actions at Castle Oblivion as a personal affront. He certainly attacked me more than Larxene."

"They think they've killed us." Lexaeus rumbled. "Such a vicious, precision strike; we were obviously not meant to make it through alive. If, Sora, you and the others hadn't come, we likely would not have survived much longer."

"And Xigbar thinks he's scared us into staying on the islands!" Sora said. "They won't be expecting us if we go after them now!" He pumped his fist in the air excitedly, and Riku put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"They might be too weak to go with us, Sora." the silveret pointed out. "They've been pretty badly hurt."

"I'm going." Marluxia growled, forcing himself to his feet. "Xigbar and Xemnas have really done it this time. They will pay for this." Larxene stood beside him, nodding in agreement.

"We're going too." Saïx said. "I am not going to let Xemnas ruin what we've been given."

Lexaeus put a hand on Zexion's shoulder, silently acknowledging his commitment as well.

"Guys?" Demyx asked. "I know that Superior is going after Kingdom Hearts and stuff, but where _is_ that? How do you get to Kingdom Hearts?"

Riku hesitated for a moment, then said, "The door is probably still there. At the End of the World. It was supposedly a Heartless of worlds, but the door had some substance of its own."

"Maybe if we look where the End of the World used to be…" Sora mused. "What if we used a portal? That way we wouldn't have to search all of Interspace."

"Portals are out, unless you want to wind up falling through Interspace." Axel laughed. "We can't portal somewhere we've never properly been. So we'll have to take the gummi ships."

"With both of them, there'll be enough room." Riku told Sora, clapping him on the shoulder. "I don't think you want to go through a portal anyway. Believe me, there's almost nothing that's less fun."

Sora frowned for a moment, and then pumped his fist into the air. "All right, then! To the gummi ships!" He dashed off towards the town exit in the First District, expecting the others to follow.

Lexaeus, the only member of the group who had not previously met Sora in person, turned to Riku and said quietly, "Is he always like that?"

Riku thought for a second, then nodded. "Yeah. All the time."

xXx

The Darkness that permeated Interspace grew thicker and thicker as the ships travelled on, and it didn't take long for them to realize that it was a sign that they were near the End of the World. Never Was was on the other side of the universe, almost, and it was the only other world with such a high concentration of Darkness. Therefore, it was simply a matter of following the Darkness to its' source.

It was difficult, as the Darkness tore at the ships as if trying to protect the fragile remains of what had once been a Heartless of worlds. They barely were able to reach a small area suitable for landing their ships, and as the group stood, they could feel the pressure exerted on them from just being there. Riku in particular wasn't handling it well. Despite not being part of the Darkness anymore, it clawed at his heart, determined to draw him back.

They stood at the entrance to a wide canyon, which seemed to get steadily narrower as it disappeared into the distance. The end was too far away to be seen.

"I recall reading once that the Heartless of worlds had a guardian." Saïx said. "A demon of some kind."

"Don't worry." Riku said. "The guardian is gone. Sora killed it."

"I did?"

"Yes. At the end of the World Terminus, Sora, don't you remember?" Riku asked, turning to look at him. "I… Well, Xehanort's Heartless could sense its' death. That's how he knew you were coming."

Sora thought for a moment, then said, "That thing with the huge bat wings that came out of the volcano?" When Riku nodded, Sora exclaimed, "That thing was scary! I'm so glad we don't have to deal with that again!"

"It should be an easy walk from here to the door, then." Axel said. "Let's go!"

As they walked, there was silence, each of them wondering what awaited them ahead. Xemnas, Xigbar, and Xaldin were powerful foes, and even with all of them standing together, it could prove impossible to get through without some casualties.

At the end of the canyon, there was a glowing column of light, like the ones that used to exist within the World Terminus. It very clearly led to the next area.

"So much for an easy walk!" Roxas taunted, elbowing his best friend. Axel grumbled, but didn't reply. Roxas glanced at Sora, and asked more quietly, "Do you think they're waiting on the other side?"

"I don't know. We can only keep going at this point." Sora replied.

Before they had a chance to step through the light, Kairi, Zexion, and Riku all whirled to look back the way they had come. A huge sea of Heartless was pouring through the canyon behind them, heading straight for where they stood.

There was a moment of hesitation, and in that moment, Saïx stepped forward, summoning his claymore. After another beat, Kairi and Xion followed, calling their Keyblades.

"Kairi!" Sora cried, as Roxas yelled, "Xion?!"

"Go, Sora!" Kairi shouted. "We'll hold them here!"

"But Kairi…!"

"It will do no good to move ahead, only to be pinned with an Organization member in front and Heartless behind." Saïx snapped. "You must reach Xemnas, or this entire endeavor is for naught. Go!"

"We'll be okay!" Xion said, speaking mainly to Roxas. "We're strong enough together to face this!"

Sora looked as if he wanted to say more, but Roxas grabbed his arm and said, "They're right! We have to get to Xemnas! Come on!" He dragged the brunet towards the column of light, disappearing in a small flash and prompting the others to follow them.

Saïx glanced at Kairi and Xion, saying sharply, "I can do this alone. Go with your friends." He didn't understand why these girls, one he had imprisoned and the other he had treated with nothing but indifference and cruelty, would stay to help him.

"We're not leaving you alone against this many!" Kairi objected. "We're more than capable of holding out own! The Heartless are trying to protect the world and the door, right? If that door does go to Kingdom Hearts and the World of Darkness, they'll never stop coming." Unlike Xion, Kairi had little to hold against Saïx. He and the Organization had imprisoned her, yes, but they had never been cruel to her.

"We have to give the others a chance to reach Xemnas." Xion said. "If you get overwhelmed, it won't help at all!"

It baffled Saïx how they just didn't _care_ what he or the Organization as a whole had done to them. They were willing to fight beside him, regardless. He turned to face the oncoming swarm of shadows, saying only, "Very well. Fight well, Princess, Xion."

Both girls tightened their grips on their keyblades, knowing that this would be the most important fight they would ever face. But they had to hold on, for Sora, and for all of the World of Light.

xXx

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Sora asked worriedly, walking beside Riku through yet another barren, stony area.

Axel barked a short laugh. "Have you _seen_ Saïx fight? Scratch that, you tore through Never Was, of course you did. You really think Heartless are going to stop him?"

Lexaeus frowned. "Remember, here there is no moon to aid him."

"Even better!" Axel chimed. "You know how he is when he's berserk. Now take all that strength and imagine fighting tactically and rationally. Saïx was the scariest thing in the Organization other than Xemnas and Xaldin."

As they made their way forward, Sora couldn't help but be grateful that the World Terminus itself was gone. That meant all the worlds swallowed by the Darkness had returned to their original states. He was so distracted by his own thoughts, he didn't notice that the others had stopped walking. It took Riku grabbing his arm for him to snap out of it, and that's when he saw why they had stopped.

Xaldin was waiting for them, his lances hovering around him like living things, waiting for the order to attack. He smiled, and knowing how ruthless a fighter the Lancer was, it was a chilling expression.

"So you have come, despite numerous warnings and threats." he said calmly. "It seems you are either brave or stupid."

"Or just determined!" Sora shouted. "We're not going to allow you to threaten the universe anymore!" He hesitated, then continued, "Zexion showed me; he showed me what you all were like before. And I was wrong; as an Organization as whole, you weren't bad people. But the people like you, the people who do these horrible things because they _enjoy _it… You don't deserve a second chance!"

"If you mean to fight, you have chosen your fate." Xaldin said, and in an instant his lances had sprung to action and aimed directly for the group. Zexion threw up an illusion to conceal them from view as they dived out of the way, and said firmly to Sora, "As before, the true objective overshadows this one fight. Let some of us stay to face Xaldin, while the rest of you go on."

Demyx called his sitar, saying in a voice that only quivered slightly, "I'll stay."

"And I." Lexaeus added, stepping up behind Zexion. "Between us, we should be fine. I owe Xaldin for Traverse Town, in any case. In a world made entirely of my element, he should be worried." As the earth-elemental spoke, the rocky canyon walls looked suddenly far more threatening.

"Zexion…" Riku said, and the other smirked.

"Are you worried for me, Riku? I'm touched, but you needn't fear. We will be fine."

Riku scowled. "I was just going to tell you not to die before I get a chance to kill you, you smug bastard."

Zexion smiled wickedly, and was about to reply, before Larxene interrupted harshly, "Break it up, lovebirds. We've only got so much time before that jerk up there figures out where our little illusion is and sends his lances after our asses." She turned to Sora. "If we're going, we need to go, now."

Sora nodded, looking back at Zexion, Lexaeus, and Demyx. "Good luck."

Zexion split the illusion, leaving half to cover the group's escape to the next column of light and the other half to shield the three remaining behind from Xaldin. The group pressing forward was getting smaller, and they could only hope that there would be enough of them left to reach Xemnas at the end.

* * *

Yeah, so it's turned into a Battle Royale with Cheese without my permission, but a twelve-on-three boss fight seemed a little unbalanced. XD Not to mention, I would have no idea how to write it. In any case, we're coming up on the last few chapters! (Hooray!) Then I can focus on my AU story, which I'm getting absolutely perfect before I post it here.

Enjoy the chapter!  
Li


	21. Battles Lost and Won

**Battles Lost and Won**

Knowing what was happening behind them, it was no surprise to what was left of the little group when Xigbar was waiting in the next area. He flashed them a cocky grin, saying loudly, "So, you decided not to listen? Bad move, kids." His gaze swept the group, lingering on Marluxia and Larxene. "Jeeze, Mar, you just can't stay dead, can you? Apparently being shot wasn't enough to kill you. I'm assuming everyone else is here too. Did you sacrifice them to Xaldin to get by? Because you should go ahead and get used to the fact that you're not going to see them again."

"Our friends will be fine!" Sora shouted. "Get down here and I'll show you how powerful we are!" He summoned the keyblade, pointing it at the sniper perched on top of one of the high cliffs.

Xigbar laughed. "Will they?" He waved a hand, and one of his sniper Nobodies appeared. He said something to it quietly, and it nodded gravely before disappearing. Xigbar called up his purple handguns, saying teasingly, "Your islands are in for a rude awakening. I warned you!" A shower of crystal bullets rained down on the group, and Marluxia set a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Go, keybearer. I will fight Xigbar."

"Not by yourself you won't!" Larxene snapped. She summoned her kunai, gripping the sharp knives between her fingers. "We've been a team since the beginning; that doesn't change now!"

"Make a run for the light pillar." Marluxia said, turning to face Xigbar and summoning his scythe. "We'll deal with this!"

Sora, Riku, Axel, and Roxas turned to run, but Xigbar had other ideas. He called on his powers, flipping the battlefield and throwing off everyone's sense of direction. Floating upside down in the center of the area, he began to fire bullets at rapid speeds, teleporting as needed to avoid the group's strikes. Sora brandished his keyblade, saying to Riku, "We won't be able to get out of here like this! We have to distract him so that Larxene and Marluxia can get hold of him!"

Riku summoned Way to the Dawn, and both boys took off after the sniper. Xigbar still teleported here and there, but as everyone joined in, it got easier, because there were fewer places he could warp to that didn't have someone nearby. Eventually, bleeding from several good hits, he righted the world and teleported to the top of the cliff, combining his guns into a sniper rifle and aiming down at them.

"Dodge!" Roxas yelled, as the bullets rained, always driving them back from the pillar of light that would take them to the next area. They darted back and forth, deflecting the bullets back when they could. Larxene moved fastest of all, blurring into multiple copies of herself. Fallen kunai stuck out of the ground wherever she passed.

"When did she learn to do that? Split like that?" Axel asked breathlessly, directing the question at Marluxia.

"Our hearts did not weaken our abilities." Marluxia said. "It's like Lexaeus said: our hearts made our powers stronger. Not to mention the fact that now we can fight without the limitations of Oblivion on us. There were things that our card-based rule-set did not allow us to do."

Axel nodded, watching Roxas knock back a wave of bullets with Oathkeeper. He faintly heard Xigbar curse, and suddenly Marluxia was shouting to everyone, "Come here, get back!"

Sora and Riku looked over in surprise, bounding over with Roxas to where the older two stood. "Why?" Sora questioned. "What's going on?!"

Marluxia grinned. "Xigbar is in for quite a… shock."

When the sniper reappeared, Larxene was right next to him, quick as the element she wielded. She stabbed him with the last of her kunai, calling on her powers. Lightning jumped from her, conducting around the kunai placed in the ground as well as the one stuck in Xigbar, gaining in strength and thoroughly electrocuting the former Number II.

"Go now!" Larxene barked the command, kicking the stunned sniper out of midair to hit the ground hard. Sora, Riku, Roxas, and Axel sprinted for the light, disappearing to the next area.

As Xigbar staggered to his feet, he grinned cruelly. "Clever move, kids. You've allowed them to move on. But who's going to help you now? We're stronger than ordinary humans. Your little light show wasn't enough to do me in by far!"

Marluxia laughed, moving too fast to be seen and appearing behind the sniper. Larxene giggled. "We're stronger than we were in the Organization, Xiggy!" she chirped.

Marluxia put a hand on Xigbar's shoulder. "And we have abilities you've never seen." He leaned forward, whispering the activation in the older man's ear, "I lay upon this soul the Death Penalty." He warped away before Xigbar could strike at him with the bladed side of his gun, reappearing to grin mockingly. "Only sixty, Xigbar? I'd have thought better of you."

"What did you do, brat?" Xigbar demanded.

Marluxia chuckled. "There's a reason no one wants to fight me. Part of my element, in keeping with the sakura and my weapon, is indeed death. You have sixty hits, Xigbar, and then you die, inhuman strength or not." The number was only visible to him, a black mark in the air above Xigbar's head.

"What?!" Xigbar exclaimed, and Larxene took the opportunity to throw a bolt of lightning. It hit the sniper in the chest, throwing him backwards, and Marluxia chuckled again.

"Oh, dear, that counted for two. Only fifty-eight now, Number II."

Growling, Xigbar forced himself to his feet. "You're going to regret this, kiddo." he said, no hint of teasing left. "Just remember that I warned you, when you're lying there bleeding to death." He raised both his guns, and Marluxia and Larxene braced themselves. This fight had just gotten a lot harder. After all, there is nothing more dangerous than a wounded predator.

xXx

The fight with Xaldin wasn't going well.

There was little water in the End of the Worlds, and though Demyx could call water from nothing, it taxed his strength tremendously. Xaldin was fast, fast enough that Lexaeus, who had the advantage of the battlefield, could do little against him. And Zexion focused mostly on trying to distract Xaldin and keep his companions safe. His illusionary clones were different from Demyx's water clones. His copies were directly connected to him, controlled via a mind link. Thus, if one was destroyed, it caused him pain, interrupting his concentration and potentially putting the others in danger. Still, two copies lingered, one armed with Xigbar's guns and the other with Axel's chakrams; both were long-range weapons that kept the clones out of immediate danger.

Lexaeus called up walls of earth, trying to limit the area that Xaldin had to work with. The ground might be to Lexaeus's advantage, but the open space was to the wind elemental's. It helped marginally, enough for Demyx's water clones to pin the older man in a corner. For a moment it looked as though the damage he was suffering was going to be enough, but with a hideous roar, his lances returned to him and shifted, giving the appearance that he was sailing through the air on the back of some sort of dragon-shaped tornado, fronted by the deadly points of the lances.

"Move!" Lexaeus shouted, grabbing Demyx by the hood of his blue sweatshirt and practically throwing him across the area out of the way. The water clones all wavered in unison, but held strong. The illusion clone wielding Xigbar's guns was firing as fast as it could, and for some reason had adopted the sniper's annoying habit of loudly complaining about every reload. Zexion didn't bother to take the time to correct it, instead throwing up an illusion of a blizzard for the Lancer to fly through.

"Wait!" Demyx said, getting up and scrambling to Zexion's side. "What if we could blind him entirely, make him see just dark, and then throw up a wall for him to crash into?"

"That… that might work…" Zexion summoned up breath that he truly didn't have, shouting across the rocky ground, "Lexaeus!" Throwing up another illusion to shield them, he and Demyx raced to the Hero's side, explaining Demyx's idea.

"It can be no worse than anything else we have tried." Lexaeus agreed. "Do it, Zexion."

Zexion held up his Lexicon, pushing out in front of him where it hung, suspended in midair. Gesturing first at the book and then at Xaldin, he shouted, "_Caecus him per obscurum!_"

For a moment, it seemed like nothing had happened. But then Xaldin seemed to react, and Lexaeus immediately raised a wall of earth, causing both whirlwind and Lancer to fall to the ground. Xaldin was immediately set upon by water clones, hundreds of them, and he was still blind. Demyx gleefully strummed his sitar, urging them on, and Zexion turned to Lexaeus. "Do we… should we…?"

Lexaeus, in the brilliant way he had of reading Zexion, knew what the younger was trying to ask. "We have no real choice, Zexion. This will not end otherwise."

Zexion looked away. "Dilan was…"

"He is not Dilan." Lexaeus said firmly. "In the same way that you are no longer Ienzo."

Zexion looked away. "I…" His voice was hesitant, but the thought was there, and the clones he controlled obeyed. As Xaldin attempted to fight off the water clones, the illusion clone bearing Axel's weapons came up from behind him, wheels of death burning as they struck their blinded former comrade. Xaldin choked, blood dribbling from his mouth as he pitched forward, and Zexion cringed.

_These weapons… and their owner… have spilt too much Organization blood. _he thought, looking away and closing his eyes. He missed it as Xaldin, in a final dying attack, launched his lances in the direction that the voices had been coming from. He wasn't looking when Lexaeus dodged, and didn't see the lance heading for him until Demyx screamed his name.

"ZEXION!"

It felt oddly like what Ienzo had always imagined football to be like; that silly game that the 'normal boys' of Radiant Garden used to play, knocking each other to the ground for a pointless ball. He stumbled, losing his balance entirely and landing hard on the ground. Shaking his head to get his bearings he looked up to thank the Nocturne for saving his life, only to see the musician with his hands pressed to his stomach, red seeping between his fingers. The lance had gone through him.

_The lance had gone through him…!_

_**"DEMYX!"**_

xXx

"There's too many!"

Kairi and Xion stood back to back, fending off what seemed to be a never-ending swarm of Heartless. Shadows kept coming at them in waves, and the only thing that they had to be thankful for was that the stronger Emblems had been nearly exterminated.

Saïx swung his claymore, decimating another line of them, and said calmly, "I would advise you both to get out of here, but that chance was lost long ago." The Heartless had long since gotten around behind them, forcing them to defend from all sides. "It appears we are in this until the bitter end, Princess, Xion."

_Sora!_ Kairi thought sadly. _If only you were here… But I have to be strong! They're only Shadows… We can do this!_

But it was quickly becoming apparent that they were cripplingly outnumbered. Even Saïx was beginning to wear down. As Heartless threatened to overwhelm them, a familiar voice rang through the area.

"Neophytes and children… you can never count on them to do anything right!"

Saïx's eyes narrowed, and Xion and Kairi looked on in amazement as Vexen appeared, literally skating on a path of ice that was forming before him as he moved. He raised his shield, and a blizzard erupted in the middle of the army of Heartless. "Diamond Dust!"

A swirl of cards alerted them to a second arrival, as Luxord appeared to send his cards against the Heartless as well. "A challenge, is it?"

"Vexen!" Kairi shouted, as Heartless fell in droves beneath Diamond Dust's assault. Vexen easily swooped down to be on their level, bowing mockingly.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Where did you…?"

He shook his head. "Never mind that now. We have bigger problems."

Saïx scowled. "For once I agree with him. Let's go."

xXx

With the arrival of the extra help, it was much easier than before to take on the Heartless. Soon, there were none left, and Xion and Kairi rounded on Vexen. "How did you find us?" Kairi asked, as Xion chimed in, "Where did Luxord come from?"

Vexen rolled his eyes. "The computer had a very sophisticated Nobody tracking system. It was keyed to the majority of Organization XIII, and our energy signatures did not change much. It was the work of mere minute to convert the range to extend beyond Twilight Town. I retrieved Luxord and came here to aid you."

"If everyone else is here to face our leader at the End of the World, we would not want to miss out." Luxord said, smiling.

"Thank you for coming to help us." Kairi said gratefully. "We would have been dead for sure!" Saïx huffed in the background, but said nothing.

Vexen nodded. "Do not thank us, Princess." He glanced at the pillar of light that led to the next area. "I suggest we hurry to aid the others, before someone gets killed."

The rest of the little group nodded in agreement, and hurried to move on. They didn't want to lose anyone during this fight, if they could help it. But all they could do was hope that the others were okay.

* * *

It's DONE! Jeeze. I've been watching Final Mix Data Battles for days, so I'm actually really proud of how this turned out! XD

...No one on youtube seems to like Vexen. I think he's kinda cool...

And now, I have a headache, and I am going to bed. Goodnight all, and enjoy the chapter!

Li


	22. Something from Nothing

**Something from Nothing**

It took a moment for Sora's vision to adjust from passing through the warp, and he blinked furiously and rubbed at his eyes. He heard Riku gasp quietly and finally looked up, seeing before them the tall white door that led to the World of Darkness, and beyond that, Kingdom Hearts. Sora let his eyes trace the rocky path that led from where they stood to the Door, and his gaze lighted on a figure dressed in black who stood at the Door's base.

"Xemnas…" he murmured.

Roxas glanced at the brunet boy with a smile. "This thing is a lot more impressive in person. Your memories really don't do it justice, Sora!"

Feeling the tension of the moment break, Sora leaned over to swat at his brother, knowing that he had needed something to make him at least crack a smile. He took a deep breath then, saying quietly, "We have to face him."

"I know…" Roxas said. "I… I don't want to, but we must…"

They made their way down the path, careful not to look into the empty abyss on either side. If they fell, there was no returning from it. Xemnas wasn't facing them, instead looking to the door, but he spoke when they were close enough to hear him. "So, the Keybearer comes. Both of them, as well as the traitors." He turned to face them, his orange eyes glinting. "XIII. It is intriguing to know that you were given a heart as well, despite being whole."

Roxas took a step back, his expression unreadable, and Sora glared at the former leader of the Organization. "You were given a heart too, Xemnas. You got what you wanted; we're not going to let you have Kingdom Hearts."

"…What I wanted?" Xemnas asked, turning away with a quiet laugh. "My heart was not my goal. Kingdom Hearts was my goal, right from the start." He raised one hand to the door, his voice sounding contemplative. "With the sort of power that resides in Kingdom Hearts, anything could be possible. I realize now that attempting to create Kingdom Hearts was a mistake. Only the real thing will be powerful and stable enough to put things right again."

"What do you mean, put things right?" Axel demanded. "You're the one who screwed everything up in the first place!"

"Yeah!" Sora continued. "You were Ansem's apprentice! It was your fault that Radiant Garden fell to Darkness, and your fault that the Heartless destroyed so many worlds!"

To their great surprise, Xemnas nodded. "Yes. All of it was my fault. But do not call me by the name that I shed." He turned around, raising a hand, and said furiously, "This _will_ put things right again!" He gestured sharply in the direction of the four, and bolts of black and white shot at them, branching and extending like lightning. Riku leapt out of the way, Roxas and Axel doing the same. But when Sora jumped, Xemnas snared him in an orb of energy, asking smugly, "Can you spare a heart?"

Riku recognized the activation for one of Xemnas's more powerful attacks, and tried to reach his best friend to help him. But Xemnas's shields had gotten stronger, and completely cut the others off from reaching the brunet teen.

"Sora!" Roxas shouted, hacking at the shields with Oathkeeper and Oblivion, though it did no good.

Xemnas smiled, watching the keybearer struggle as his power was drained. "Had you listened to Xigbar and stayed on the islands, I would have had to send someone to retrieve you. As it stands, you came to me of your own will. I thank you, Sora." Sora attempted to speak, but the words were lost in a hiss of pain. Xemnas laughed. "How did your mouse-king put it, Keybearer? 'To close the Door to Darkness from both sides, you need two keys and two hearts'. Thankfully, to reopen the Door, it only requires one!"

Sora's eyes widened, feeling his power flowing, not to Xemnas, but to the Door itself. The energy orb released him, letting him fall to the ground at Xemnas's feet as the man turned to the opening door. "Kingdom Hearts! Grant me your powers!"

A keyblade struck Xemnas from behind, spinning through the air before looping to return to its owner. _Strike Raid_. Roxas caught Oathkeeper as it whirled back to him, meeting Xemnas's gaze when the other turned around with his own cold stare. "You will _never_ be able to right the wrongs you've done!" he shouted. "You will never be able to fix everything that happened! _Never_!"

Xemnas only smiled cruelly. "With the power of Kingdom Hearts behind me, anything is possible." He faced the three still on their feet, a glowing aura surrounding his form. They braced themselves, knowing that whatever power Xemnas had gotten from the opening of the Door, this was going to be the last fight. They had to stop him here.

xXx

When Saïx, Vexen, Kairi, Xion, and Luxord reached the next area, it wasn't a pretty sight. Lexaeus was silently standing guard, watching for Heartless or anything else that could try to pick them off in their weakened state. Zexion was cradling the unconscious Nocturne. He was shivering, using his shirt to try to stem the flow of blood from the wound in Demyx's stomach. When he saw who had appeared through the warp, his eyes widened, and he cried, "Vexen!" The name came out with relief; Vexen had always had the most medical knowledge of the original six.

The Academic hurried to kneel beside Zexion, knocking Zexion's hand away to replace it with his own and calling on his ice powers. Applying cold would slow the body's function, most specifically slowing the heartbeat, thereby lessening bleeding. It would hopefully be enough to find a way to help him.

"None of us know cure magic!" Zexion said. If it hadn't been a life-or-death situation, Vexen would have been fascinated by how panicked the former Schemer seemed. As it was, he pressed harder on the bloody shirt, saying grimly, "He needs help now, or he's likely to die."

"I can use cure." Xion said quietly. "I don't know if my magic is powerful enough…"

"It's worth a try. It's always worth a try." Vexen said. He motioned Xion closer, and she obeyed, kneeling as well and resting one hand next to Vexen's and the other on the Nocturne's heart.

"Cure."

It was a bad wound. Even knowing next to nothing about medicine, Xion could tell simply from the strain that healing it was putting on her. She was surprised, though, when Kairi appeared on her other side, resting her hands on top of Xion's and contributing her own power, strengthening the spell. For a moment, it didn't seem like anything was happening, but then Demyx stirred, his eyes fluttering open. Vexen moved the shirt, checking to see if the wound had closed. It had, and he nudged the blond to sit up so he could check the exit wound. That had also healed, and Xion and Kairi stepped away, smiling in relief that the musician wasn't going to die.

Even sitting, Demyx swayed back and forth, slightly woozy from blood-loss. He smiled blearily at Zexion, who scowled. "You _idiot_… Don't _ever_ do something like that again… You could have been _killed_…" Demyx leaned over and hugged him, and he gave up any pretense of being anything other than relieved, hugging the musician tightly in return.

xXx

They decided, obviously by the fact that Demyx couldn't stand up without the world reeling and causing him to trip over his own feet, that the musician was not going to accompany them to aid the rest of their friends. Vexen volunteered to stay with him, to make sure that he was going to recover properly, and Lexaeus stayed to protect both of them in case of Heartless.

Zexion had stared at all three, possibly the three people of the former Organization he could honestly say that he liked. Lexaeus had picked up on the stare, quietly reassuring the silveret that they would be all right. He'd taken off the sweatshirt he was wearing over a t-shirt, passing the sweatshirt to Zexion to make up for the shirt that was now covered in blood. It dwarfed the illusionist's small frame, but at least it was a shirt.

"We'll bring back Sora and the others." Kairi promised, and Vexen rolled his eyes.

"I should hope so. That is one of the main points of this." It was the closest thing to encouragement they were going to get from the scientist, and it earned a chuckle from Luxord and a small smile from Zexion. Those moving on turned to the next light pillar, ready to face whatever was ahead.

What they didn't expect was that what was ahead didn't _want_ to be faced. Almost as soon as they had arrived, Marluxia was driving them back away from the fight, his expression determined.

"This fool is _ours_. We will defeat him." Marluxia sported a shallow cut across his left cheek and a bleeding gash in his side, but appeared fully prepared to keep going regardless. Kairi opened her mouth to object, but Luxord quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and nodded to the Assassin. The former Lord of Oblivion was nothing if not prideful, and it was in their best interest to wait and only step in if necessary.

They watched in silence as Marluxia hurried back to the fight, swinging his scythe to send an energy blade at the sniper and taunting, "Only eight left, Xigbar! Are you going to give up?"

The sniper growled viciously, blocking the blade of energy as best he could with his guns. He had made the unfortunate discovery that calling up more of the crystal bullets the guns fired used magic power, power that was now limited by his humanity. So while he could still manipulate space, he was forced into melee combat with the bladed sides of his guns, against two people who specialized in close-combat. "I'm not down for the count yet, brat."

Larxene giggled. "You won't _ever_ be 'down for the count', Xiggy." she chirped. "We'll land the last hit and you'll just die! There are no re-dos!" She fired lightning at him, which despite his best attempt to dodge, still jumped to his weapons and electrocuted him that way. Ignoring Marluxia's snicker, which told him that the godforsaken counter that he couldn't see had ticked another number away, he flipped the arena again, sideways this time, and used the momentary disorientation to lunge at Marluxia, banishing one gun to catch hold of the scythe.

Marluxia yelled something that the others couldn't hear, trying to yank the scythe away. Xigbar smiled cruelly, swinging his gun up and swiping it furiously into Marluxia's head. When the other managed to look at Xigbar again, there was a gash from above his left eye across to his right cheekbone. Xigbar laughed. "One more good hit and you'll look like Saïx, brat. You should have let them help when you had the chance." he mocked, indicating the others, specifically the berserker, with a wave of his hand.

Marluxia's eyes burned with the most intense emotion, all the pent-up hatred for the sniper that as a Nobody he had been unable to feel. Larxene appeared behind the older man, driving two kunai into his back, and his grip faltered. Marluxia jerked his scythe free and swung at the man, driving him back against the wall of the area. A final slash sent Xigbar sprawling to the ground, bleeding profusely, the black number "1" above his head standing out in sharp relief.

"We didn't want to be trapped in your stupid plan, with your stupid leadership." the Assassin hissed. "But you dragged me there anyway, and you can't just quit Organization XIII." He set the scythe over Xigbar's neck, preventing him from getting up, and said sharply, "We finally have what we wanted, and you and your hateful 'leader' deserve this, for trying to ruin it again." He turned to Larxene, asking calmly, "Larxene, love, let me see one of your kunai?"

Puzzled, she passed him the knife, watching as he set it to Xigbar's unscarred cheek. "I hate you." he whispered. "Now die." He dragged the knife up Xigbar's face, mirroring his other scar, and the Death Penalty counter ticked down the final hit. Xigbar tried to speak, to yell or curse or something, but his lungs refused to draw breath. He stared at Marluxia in something like shocked horror before his eyes glazed over and he crumpled to the ground. His heart had stopped.

Marluxia took five steps back and sank to the ground, reaching up to weakly touch the cut across his face. It was up to chance at this point whether it would scar or not, but he wasn't worried about that at the moment. Larxene sat down a few feet away, clearly exhausted. The others came to see if they were all right, and Marluxia looked right at Zexion. "I know you grew up with him, but I gave him the opportunity to surrender." It was a testament to how drained he was that he didn't make a snide comment about the fact that the skinny illusionist was practically drowning in his sweatshirt.

Zexion nodded. "We… We've killed Xaldin as well." Marluxia didn't look surprised, merely shutting his eyes with a quiet sigh. He opened them again when someone touched his face, and saw Xion kneeling, her expression hesitant.

"Let us heal you…" she said softly, and he shook his head.

"No. Go aid the keyblade master. He will need your help."

Xion nodded, climbing back to her feet, and the group turned to face the final light pillar. Before they left, Saïx turned to Marluxia and said gruffly, "Vexen and Lexaeus are looking after Demyx in the other area. It might be safer to join up with them."

"Vexen, huh…?" Marluxia mused. "Interesting…" He glanced at Larxene, who giggled. They practically lived to annoy Vexen. "Perhaps we shall take your advice…"

And so the group divided again, the wounded who had triumphed over Xigbar backtracking to find the others, and the rest of the group moving on. Kairi walked near the front, only one thing on her mind.

_Hold on, Sora! We're coming. Just a little longer…!_

* * *

After how awesome I thought last chapter turned out, this one disappoints me. Ugh. Anyway, the final battle looms ahead, and I've got one more trick in my hat. XD

In my head, when Organization XIII isn't running around being a dysfunctional family where everyone actually likes each other, Xigbar and Marluxia hate each other. I dunno why I see them like that, but I do.

...You didn't _really_ think that I'd kill Demyx, did you? 8D  
Li


	23. Divinity

Enjoy this extra-long chapter! And I just wanted to let you guys know, the brief, rather vague explanation at the end does contain a** SPOILER **for Birth by Sleep. If this displeases you, skip that part. Now... on with the chapter!

* * *

**Divinity**

The first mistake had been letting Xemnas talk. What he had to say about his ambitions didn't matter. It only mattered that he was stopped from completing his plans. To that end, the second mistake was allowing Sora to be caught. Originally, the attack that Xemnas had used had been to steal Sora's heart and kill him. It was changed now that he had become human. Now it only stole the Keyblade Master's power, leaving him crumpled, weakened, to the ground.

As Riku dodged yet another burst of solid black-and-white lightning, he couldn't help but blame himself. He hadn't been able to get through Xemnas's shields, and now, though Sora was on his feet and helping with the fight, he wasn't nearly as strong as he normally would be. Xemnas's power had grown exponentially in comparison with whatever he had done to the door.

"Look out!" Axel shouted, as a ring of lasers appeared around the mildly distracted silveret. Riku jumped clear just as they all shot towards the center, landing to lock blades with the man they were fighting. Xemnas wasn't pulling any punches. He was really trying to kill them. And he might be powerful enough to actually do so.

Roxas blocked a few stray lasers, moving in to distract Xemnas as Riku struggled with him. He swung hard with Oathkeeper, the pointed edges of the star catching the former Lord of Never Was's arm and drawing blood. With Xemnas's attention successfully focused on Roxas, Riku hurried to Sora's side. "Are you okay?"

Sora nodded. "I used curaga. I'll be fine. This… this isn't working."

"What do you mean?" Riku grabbed his hand to pull him out of the way of another attack.

Sora gestured across the battlefield. "Axel's chakrams aren't doing anything to him. Only the keyblade is even hurting him, and we're not powerful enough if he has Kingdom Heart's power."

"What are we going to do?" Riku asked.

"I don't know."

"_Sora!_"

The brunet looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of worried blue eyes and berry-colored hair before Kairi had thrown her arms around him. He awkwardly hugged the girl back, not letting go of the keyblade, and she stepped back to look him over. "Sora, you're hurt…"

"I'll be fine." Sora said. He watched Luxord and Saïx hurrying to join the battle, along with Xion, and asked quickly, "Where are the others?"

"Demyx was hurt, and Vexen stayed to look after them. Marluxia and Larxene were too weak after their fight with Xigbar, and Lexaeus stayed to make sure no Heartless got them." Zexion said, appearing from behind Kairi. He summoned his Lexicon, striding past Sora to take his place in the battle, but not without one last jab at Riku. "Come along, Riku. This is only the human form of Xehanort's Heartless. It shouldn't be _that_ difficult."

Riku groaned. "Of everyone we have with us, it had to be _you_ who ended up here and not Lexaeus." Summoning Way to the Dawn, he turned back towards Xemnas, shooting over his shoulder, "And is that a shirt, or a dress?" as one final jab before running off.

Zexion rolled his eyes. "Mature, as always." he murmured to himself, before following Riku into battle.

xXx

It soon became apparent that Sora was right. Only the keyblades were actually harming Xemnas. Seeing this, the others turned their attention to protecting their keyblade wielders, as best they could. Whatever Xemnas had done, it had given him strength that easily matched all of them.

Xion blocked a wave of lasers that was coming at her and Kairi, asking breathlessly, "Sora has a memory of you wielding a keyblade. Why don't you have one now?" Even becoming a separate person, she still remembered the things she had seen as Sora.

"I can call one, but I don't really know how to fight." Kairi said. "Being a Princess of Heart doesn't teach you that sort of thing. I'd rather not put myself in danger, because that would just distract all of you."

Xion smiled. "That's… That's really great. If it were Sora instead of you, he'd just rush right in. And then we'd have to go save his butt."

"I'd rather make sure I'm here to heal you all." Kairi replied.

Both girls whirled to look as a choked scream split the air. One of Xemnas's blades had caught Roxas across the chest, and the blond boy stumbled backwards, bleeding profusely. Kairi pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from screaming, and started towards him, prepared to do whatever it took to mend his wound. It was a bad one, but she and Xion had saved Demyx, and the musician's wound would have killed him.

Xion gasped, reaching out to pull her back at the last moment, dodging to one side and dragging Kairi with her to avoid the huge bursts of monochrome lightning. Xemnas was driving everyone back, seeing his opportunity to end the life of at least one of those who were attacking him. He slashed at Roxas, another gash appearing at an angle with the first, and Roxas took another few steps back, his shoe slipping on the very edge of the path. Nothing but the void waited below, and none of them knew what would happen if someone were to fall. Roxas teetered on the edge for a moment, and it seemed that he would regain his balance. But another wave of lasers came at him, and as he raised the keyblade to block, it was that tiny movement that set him off-balance, and over he fell.

Axel howled something that no-one could quite understand, sprinting for the edge. Xemnas was there, ready to block the chakrams swung at him with his blades.

"He is gone, Axel. Don't waste your time." Xemnas laughed.

"How _dare you_?" Axel snarled. "You would go after _him_? I'm going to tear you into pieces so small that not even _Kingdom Hearts itself can put you back together_!" With sheer force of will, the redhead forced Xemnas back. Saïx appeared on his other side, to Axel's elation and Xemnas's dismay.

"Just like old times, hm?" Saïx said, smiling faintly, some of what Isa used to be shining through in his eyes. "Leave him to me. Go after Roxas, if that is what you choose."

Sora and Riku went after Xmenas from behind, as a wave of cards and an illusion of darkness swept down to provide cover. Axel looked at his one-time best friend and smiled broadly. "Thank you." With that, he banished his chakrams and sprinted for the edge of the path. _Kingdom Hearts, please don't let me be too late… Save him!_ He braced one foot on the edge and pushed off, diving into the void after Roxas.

xXx

_Roxas was falling through space. That was funny. He didn't remember passing out. Was this what it was like falling into the void? Darkness would take him now, he was almost certain._

_He was surprised when he spotted the familiar stained glass so far below. When had this stopped being the void and turned into the Awakening? He was happy to see that for once, the stained glass bore his own image, surrounded by people important to him. In the circle closest to the large image of himself, a portrait of Axel was formed from the glass. Naminé, Xion, Sora… all of them were there. His feet touched down on the cool glass, and he looked around. Maybe his mind was trying to spare him the trauma of being aware of dying in the void of darkness that served as the heart of the End of the World._

_"Axel…" he whispered, touching the glass softly. "I messed up. I'm sorry."_

"Roxas!"

_Roxas looked around, uncertain if he had actually heard the voice. There was no way. Axel wasn't here. Axel wasn't stupid enough to die for him…_

"ROXAS!"

_…wait. Yes he was. He already had once._

_"Axel?" Roxas cried, looking around. Axel couldn't be in his Awakening. It represented his heart, and only when he had shared a heart with Sora had there been two people in one heart._

"Roxas, you can't give up! You can't let yourself fall away!"

_Roxas smirked. "But wouldn't that be easier?" he asked, teasing the voice now._

"Damn it, Roxas, I'm coming to get you! Don't even joke like that!"

_That was Axel, all right. All fiery passion and reckless courage. It figured the redhead would do something as stupid as dive into the void after him. Axel had always proven that he would do __**anything**__ for him. Axel was his best friend._

_As he considered this thought, the stained glass lit from below, flickering with warm colors as if a fire had come to life beneath the surface. Roxas felt power filling him, stronger than he had ever experienced before, and suddenly Axel's arms were tight around him._

_"What happened?" he asked, baffled._

_"I don't know…" Axel said. "But I think I'm lending you my power, so it's up to you, now. Let's get out of here and show that Xemnas what it means to mess with us!"_

_Roxas couldn't stop the grin that spread over his face. "Yeah. Let's go."_

xXx

"Idiots!" Riku cried, driving off an illusion of Xemnas furiously. The man had separated, three separate clones darting around the battlefield to make things that much harder on them.

"Who's an idiot?" Sora asked, swinging his keyblade to strike the copy.

"Axel!" Riku all-but shouted. "He dove off that cliff after Roxas, knowing that there was no way to bring him back up…" It was clear that Riku was upset because he was worried, and Sora couldn't help but smile.

He started to reply, but Zexion appeared out of another illusion of darkness and said dryly, "If there is one thing that the Organization has taught me, it is to never underestimate Axel when Roxas is concerned." He sent a cloud of razor-sharp pages slicing at the nearest copy, shredding it even though a new one would simply take its place.

They were distracted as a sudden glow seemed to come from where Axel and Roxas had fallen. Everyone, even Xemnas, stopped and watched in amazement as Roxas rose from where he had been thrown into the pit, throwing his arms wide, fiery wings like a phoenix spreading from behind him. They seemed barely substantial, made of light, but they were enough to lift the blond from the gaping maw of the earth. His clothes had changed, becoming something akin to the Organization's former uniform, but sleeveless. The Bond of Flames was gripped tightly in one hand, and the Aubade in the other.

"What…?" Sora tried to ask, choking as he looked at his brother. Something clicked, and his mind registered Axel's absence in connection with Roxas's newfound power. "A drive form… Roxas went into a drive form, and merged with Axel…"

"Like you could do with Donald and Goofy?" Riku asked.

"And Roxas. Final Form was Roxas's power." Sora replied. "This one, though… this is different."

Roxas seemed to glide as he crossed the area to where they stood. Xemnas hadn't moved, merely watching the boy warily. When he reached Sora and Riku, Roxas said calmly, "This is the Divinity drive form. It works by merging your power with that of the person closest to your heart." He smiled. "For me, that's Axel."

"Roxas, how did you…?" Sora again tried to ask.

Roxas shook his head. "I don't know, Sora. I don't know. But this power… This power will be enough. You two can use it as well. We can defeat Xemnas. I know we can!"

Sora nodded. "We have nothing to lose…" He turned to the group, and said to Riku over his shoulder, "We both need to fight, so we can't share power between us." Walking to Kairi, Sora smiled warmly. "Kairi… Will you lend me your power?"

Kairi looked from Sora to Luxord, Saïx, Zexion, and Xion, who were doing their best to hold back Xemnas. "Of course, Sora. Do you really have to ask?" She reached out and took his hands, closing her eyes. There was a few seconds where nothing happened, and then a blinding flash of light forced everyone present to shield their eyes. When it dimmed again, Kairi was gone, and Sora was dressed similarly to Roxas, but with wings of purple light streaked with gold. Oathkeeper and Two Across rested loosely in his hands, and both Ultima Weapons hovered behind him, poised to move at the slightest thought.

Riku hesitated, uncertain, looking around the group. Xion wielded a keyblade, but had not been her own person long enough to have someone close enough for a drive form. As he watched the remainder of the group try to hold Xemnas back, he was suddenly reminded of the conclusion he'd come to in Traverse Town, what seemed so long ago.

_Riku realized with a dull sense of surprise that he didn't really feel uncomfortable around Zexion anymore. To torment someone like the mind-mage had tormented him, you had to know them, inside and out. Strengths and weaknesses. Hopes and fears. The way that Riku figured it, Zexion knew him better than anyone else…_

Riku bit back the urge to curse, and instead called to the illusionist, "Zexion!"

To Riku's displeasure, Zexion seemed to know what he needed. He stopped before Riku, glancing over his shoulder at the others before saying quietly, but with an undeniable hint of smugness, "Am I truly that important to you, Riku?"

Riku sighed, refusing to take the bait and get angry, and instead replied calmly, "I figured it out in Traverse Town. You've seen my darkest fears, Zexion, and other things I've never told anyone. I think you know more about me than anyone else. Sora may know, but I'm not going to ask."

Zexion regarded him, one eyebrow raised, for a long moment. Finally, he smiled, shifting his Lexicon to balance in the crook of one arm and offering his free hand. "You've grown, Riku. If I truly cared, I might be proud of you."

Riku took the offered hand, smiling in spite of himself. There was something in Zexion's eyes that indicated he really _was_ proud of Riku, and while the silveret wasn't going to question it, it inexplicably made him happy. He shut his eyes, not knowing if Zexion had done the same, and felt power flowing through him. He caught a glimpse of his stained-glass Awakening, lit from below with an eerie blue-violet light, before opening his eyes to the world again. Zexion was nowhere to be seen, but Riku could feel his presence. He had his own sleeveless coat now, and blue angel wings made of light extended easily behind him. He raised his hands, calling Oblivion and Way to the Dawn, and stepped up to stand next to Sora. Roxas took his place on Sora's other side, and the Keyblade Master called out to Xemnas.

"This is the last time you'll be able to hurt the universe!" Sora shouted. "We'll make sure you never come back!"

Xemnas regarded them levelly. "You will never understand why I would do this."

"It doesn't matter." Roxas said. "You can't use Kingdom Hearts to make things right."

Riku frowned. "And if you won't give up… we have no choice but to defeat you!"

Saïx, Luxord, and Xion dropped back as the three keybearers charged Xemnas. Saïx and Luxord glanced at each other, an odd feeling making both of them uneasy. It was… strange, watching them attempting to kill a man that they had called Superior for so long. For Xion, it was justice. Xemnas had used her and Roxas, pit them against each other, and done everything in his power to hold them prisoner, however subtle the imprisonment had been. The only person that she hated more… was probably DiZ; Ansem the Wise.

xXx

Xemnas tried. He threw everything he had at them, but against three keybearers with significant grudges against not one, but two or even three incarnations of him, he didn't stand a chance. Sora and Riku were relentless, and Roxas's attacks were outright vicious, all of his own fury and Axel's backing them up. Xemnas threw out his black and white lightning, but it was quickly cut apart by the keyblades. Even his duplicates were destroyed before they could even properly form. The keybearers surrounded him, power flaring as they prepared for a last strike.

"Trinity Bout!" Sora shouted, and Roxas and Riku's voices joined him as he yelled, "Infinite Session!"

Pinned six ways by keyblades, Xemnas couldn't avoid the beams of light that shot from the ends, significantly wounding the Organization's former Superior. Weakened by the furious attack, he couldn't avoid the two Ultima Weapons under Sora's control, rising high into the air and coming down relentlessly to strike him down.

Stepping back, there was a flare of power, and six people stood where three had been. Xemnas was dying, and the drive forms had powered down. Sora wrapped one arm around Kairi, reaching out to find Riku's hand with his own free hand. Axel hugged Roxas, and Zexion simply smiled.

"Xemnas…" Sora said quietly. "Kingdom Hearts… Kingdom Hearts isn't something that one person can control. It's the heart of our universe, and no one should have power over that."

"With that kind of power…" Xemnas rasped, clearly in bad shape, "I could have fixed… Everything…"

"No, you couldn't have." Roxas said. He glanced at Sora. "We visited Castle Oblivion, and I started to remember things. I'm sure Sora will remember eventually, but for now… Kingdom Hearts couldn't have restored things. Look at Sora and I. Who do you see?"

Xemnas froze then, looking at the two as if seeing them for the first time. "V-Ve…" He tried to speak, but instead began coughing harshly.

Roxas nodded. "We are both him. Two hearts divided. I have his light, tempered by my darkness. And Sora has his darkness, restrained by his own light. We were here… all along."

Xemnas stared at them, amazed, before a faint smile appeared on his face. His eyes slid shut, and the man who had once been the most powerful Nobody and most powerful Heartless in existence finally passed away for good.

Sora looked away, feeling unexplainably sad, and instead faced his companions. Xion, Roxas, Saïx… Luxord and Axel and Kairi… Zexion and Riku…

"Come on, guys…" he said quietly. "Let's get the others and go home."

* * *

It is 4:25 am, and I'm not really sure why I'm still up when I have school tomorrow. But here it is! The final showdown with Xemnas! I don't like it nearly as much as the fight with Xaldin! Yay! O.o

Divinity Drive was inspired by this picture from DeviantArt: jigenbakudan(DOT)deviantart(DOT)com(SLASH)art(SLASH)Blind-Unknown-Divinity-Riku-10585218  
It's really a very pretty picture. ^.^ Also, the "Trinity Bout" and "Infinite Session" are my vague attempts at creativity with the Duel Bout and Eternal Session reaction commands.

Haha... "Ve". Anyway, next chapter it's back to Destiny Islands to make sure everyone is okay! Hallelujah.

~Li


	24. Epilogue: Separate Ways

**Epilogue: Separate Ways**

Destiny Islands provided the group with an interesting sight upon their return. There were signs of fighting everywhere, but nothing threatening was in sight. Sora sprinted ahead, running back to his house. He was worried, but found his mother, Naminé, and Rikki sitting in the front yard, drinking lemonade. The Soul Eater, a garden rake, and a baseball bat were sitting in a pile near the folding chairs they were occupying.

"What happened?" Sora demanded.

"There were these strange white creatures…" Mrs. Hikari explained. "Funny-looking ones that looked like living clothing, or something. And then there were other ones that looked like they were wearing armor, with guns."

"Dusks, and Xigbar's Snipers." Naminé clarified. "Is it safe to say that you upset him?"

"Probably…" Glancing at the Soul Eater and the improvised weaponry surrounding it, he asked, "You fought them off?"

"Everyone helped. Most of the town." Rikki said. "We got all of them, and no one was really badly hurt."

"What about you, Sora?" Mrs. Hikari asked. "Did you stop Xemnas?"

Sora nodded. "Xemnas, Xigbar, and Xaldin… We had to kill them. We told them they could give up… and they refused." He looked at the ground. "It was… difficult. But… the universe is safe now. That's what matters, right?"

The rest of the group caught up to Sora, and from there it was a round of introductions for Sora's mother and the remaining Organization members. Vexen was pleased to see Rikki again, glad that his two most successful Replicas had been deemed worthy of hearts, and Naminé reconciled with Marluxia and Larxene. Everyone, really, spent their time catching up and discussing plans for the future.

Eventually, people started leaving, telling each other where to find them so that visits could be made. Luxord excused himself first, citing that he needed to return to where he was living, or it would look strange. Marluxia and Larxene left soon after, and gradually everyone returned to the homes they had created for themselves in the two months since their return to life.

xXx

Marluxia and Larxene returned to Traverse Town, where Marluxia could take care of his flowers in peace, and Larxene could raise hell with no repercussions. Eventually, a few people made their way to the town, and it started on its way to returning to its former liveliness. Moogles returned to reopen the synthesis shop, and a few shop owners also resumed business. Again it became a haven for those without a home, and Marluxia and Larxene got to finally realize their dream of being in charge of their own world.

_"Marluxia? Some guy is in the lobby insisting that we need to deport the moogles as illegal immigrants. Can I stab him?"_

_"As much as I think that is an idiotic statement and would like to say yes, no you may not. Tell him that he is a fool. This is Traverse Town. There are no such things as illegal immigrants."_

xxx

Vexen went back to Twilight Town to continue his analysis of the computer program in the mansion. He was certain that there was a practical application for an entire virtual world, outside of using it as a prison. At the very least, he could program in things that didn't exist in the real Twilight Town, or even program new areas entirely. So, just because he could, he programmed in a snowy mountain in a different file, and spent afternoons happily skiing.

_"Vexen's Log, Experiment Seven: Master Ansem apparently still favored the same amusing little computer games that he did back in Radiant Garden. Using the data transferance scanner to place myself within these games was a bad idea. The Solitaire cards were the size of three of me, Minesweeper proved extremely dangerous, and I much prefer my program to that rather strange SkiFree. I had to transfer back, or risk being consumed by an abominable snowman. I believe I will stick to safer locations in the future."_

xxx

Lexaeus and Saïx chose to return to the world of their birth, Radiant Garden. Both were determined to live normal lives. Lexaeus became a sculptor, using his powers over earth to create brilliant works of art. Saïx chose to live a quiet life on his own. Their friends visited them often, and they were never lonely. Not to mention, Saïx finally got to realize an unfulfilled dream from his childhood.

_"You never got to go in the old castle, did you?"_

_"As I recall, you and Dilan were always there to throw me and Lea out. It's not my fault we never got farther than the entrance hall."_

_"You could go there now, you know. I'll go with you. I want to see if it has changed."_

_"I thi... Wait, really?"_

xxx

Luxord returned to Las Vegas, where he continued to gain a reputation for cleaning out casinos. By the time he was banned in every casino in the city, he had several trillion dollars. He bought himself a huge house and settled down to live a modest life where he never had to work again. He also struck up a friendship with Doctor Dunos, the man who worked at the mental hospital, and entertained the idea of opening his own casino. Life had dealt him a pretty good hand.

_"Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Greg. It was very nice of you."_

_"You've been a good friend, Rould. It was the least I could do. Kel!"_

_"What, Dad? I was in the middle of the epilogue!"_

_"Rould, this is my daughter, Kel. Kel, this is my friend, Rould Luxord."_

_"..."_

_"Kel?"_

_"OH MY GOD!!!!"_

xxx

Demyx stayed on Destiny Islands, near the beaches he loved so much, and after much consideration, Zexion had decided to stay with him. The blond was a good influence on him, as Lexaeus had pointed out on a rare moment of teasing. So he spent his days listening to Demyx compose music, occasionally using his skill with words to offer up lyrics. Demyx slowly gained recognition throughout the islands as a brilliant performer, but Zexion preferred to leave the blond to his spotlight and stay back in the shadows. And tease Riku when he could, of course.

_"What do you think of 'Cacophony of Silence'? It would be a good song name!"_

_"Do you have lyrics for it?"_

_"I have a melody... I was kind of hoping that... well, that you'd..."_

_"...Yes, Demyx. I will write you lyrics."_

_"YAY! You're the best, Zexy!"_

_"...stop calling me that."_

xxx

The Hikari family was fine with gaining two new members. Roxas and Xion got to experience having a parent for the first time in their lives, and they were more than happy. Naminé was adopted as Kairi's sister, and Riku's parents had been perfectly willing to accept Rikki into their family. Axel had his own house in the little town, but more often than not he could be found at the Hikaris', spending time with his favorite person.

_"So this is your clone?"_

_"'Clone' is really not the best word, Dad. He was a replica. He's a person now."_

_"I understand the whole Nobody thing. Namine is a sweet girl. But I really don't understand this."_

_"Don't worry about it, Dad. Just accept that Rikki's my brother and let's move on. We're going over to Sora's for a movie, and we need to be there early to make sure that Axel isn't sitting close enough to molest Roxas while we're watching."_

_"All right, Riku. ...I will never understand these kids."_

xXx

The sun had just dipped below the horizon, washing the beach and the three teens sitting there in the glow of night. The three Hikari siblings were sitting side-by-side, staring out at the play island. Roxas was in the middle, Sora on one side and Xion leaning her head on his other shoulder. Sora leaned back on his hands, looking over at Roxas and asking lazily, "So, when we were talking to Xemnas, you said something about how "he" was both of us. Who were you talking about?"

Roxas smiled. "You don't remember anything yet?"

Sora frowned. "No."

"I'll tell you when you start remembering. You went to Oblivion too, after all." Roxas laughed, seeing Sora pout at the response. "That won't work on me! You'll just have to wait."

Xion giggled, sitting up to look at them both. "Don't worry about it, Sora. Just be happy that we're all here. It was worth it, wasn't it?"

"Of course." Sora replied immediately. "Saving the universe is always worth it."

Roxas looked thoughtful. "To think… if we hadn't gone to Never Was trying to free me… And if we hadn't gone to Radiant Garden we wouldn't have run into Axel. Xemnas could have taken over the universe, and we wouldn't have even noticed."

"Let's not think about that!" Sora yelped. Roxas laughed, snatching up a fistful of sand and trying to put it down Sora's shirt. Xion joined in as well, splashing both boys mercilessly. It dissolved into a water fight, like they were kids. Mrs. Hikari was going to have her hands full with _three_ world-hopping, universe-defending teenagers. But in the end, everything had turned out perfectly.

* * *

Obligatory Ending Author's Note

…Well… That's the end. No, I'm not explaining about Sora and Roxas and "Ve". Go play (or watch on Youtube) Birth by Sleep. I guarantee you'll understand by the end.

This was actually a lot of fun to write, even if I got stuck sometimes. The final battle didn't come out nearly as cool as I saw it in my head, but that's okay. Now I can go work on my AU story. I'm eleven chapters in already and it is absolutely epic. In my completely un(totally)biased opinion. XD

I wanted to have all of those silly little italic conversations there at the end, just to show how everyone was getting along. I can just imagine Marluxia in politics, or Vexen trapped on a Minesweeper board, or me screaming like a giddy fangirl if Luxord showed up in my house. (If it was Zexion I would faint, then revive, _then_ scream, then glomp him.) I had a great time writing this, and I hope you guys had just as much fun reading it. See you next time!

Hugs,  
Li


End file.
